


Fire Walk With Me

by xiuminlover666



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Baekhyun and Chanyeol are nerds, M/M, Minor Violence, Swearing, University AU, just random names that came to mind, kidnapping but that chapter will have a warning at the top of it, mafia/mobster AU, my only knowledge about the mafia is from the godfather, ocs aren't based on real people, pretty lighthearted, slight ceo au, you may say it's silly but so am i
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-12 18:28:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 47,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13553076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xiuminlover666/pseuds/xiuminlover666
Summary: Baekhyun is a social recluse who just really wants to play games and disregard how everyone constantly tells him that he needs to get out more. His only two friends - Minseok and Jongdae - are more than enough company, thank you very much.But Baekhyun's uneventful summer takes an unexpected turn when he meets Park Chanyeol - the wealthy young heir of Park Group.As their friendship grows Baekhyun comes to learn that he doesn't know everything about Chanyeol. As secrets about Chanyeol are unveiled Baekhyun also learns about the true nature of his family.





	1. Chapter One

Baekhyun looked up at the sound of the door opening. It was just another group of bored teenagers who ambled inside so he returned back to the comic he was reading. They let the door swing shut and a gust of hot hair blew into the air-conditioned store and momentarily reminded him of the stifling heat outside.  
At the height of summer holidays he often had teenagers meandering about in the store without actually buying anything. He wasn’t surprised at the slow business though. There was a shopping mall just around the corner with a video game shop three times the size of this one that was stocked with the latest games.

Baekhyun sighed. He thought his uncle was doing him a favour by hiring him for the summer but it seemed to be the other way around. He just wanted an excuse to go on a long holiday to China and leave Baekhyun to watch the shop. Baekhyun often wondered how it was still in business as he had only sold one game that week.

The store was tucked away in a side street that smelled a bit like fish from the neighbouring restaurant. The only indication of its existence was the 90’s era neon sign that flickered outside the door. It was absolutely tiny inside and as Baekhyun had never seen it full, he imagined that only ten people could fit inside without having to squash up against each other. The fact that the store opened at noon and closed in the early evening was another mystery to him but he had never gotten a solid answer out of his uncle. Sometimes his older cousin Junmyeon would drop in once in a while to chat and sort out the accounts and finances in the back room. But other than the occasional visit he hardly had human interaction in the shop.

He peered at the group over his round-framed glasses. There were four of them and they were all dressed in varying brand name items. Judging by the way that they carried themselves and their carefully-crafted shabbiness told him that they were certainly delinquents. They aimlessly flicked through the items on the shelves with expressions of sullen disinterest. Despite being high school students they were noticeably bigger than he was. Their mutters droned over the sound of the air-conditioner.

Baekhyun wasn’t scared of delinquents and he certainly wasn’t scared of teenagers. He knew that size was certainly no indication of strength. He kept a baseball bat under the counter in the unlikely event of a robbery. His uncle had taught him how to defend himself at a young age, much to the disapproval of his mother and the excitement of Junmyeon. It had been enough to keep safe from bullies in primary school.  
But he wasn’t stupid enough to go around picking fights. Despite his confidence in his capabilities, he eyed the group and decided that there were too many of them for him to take on in the event of a scuffle. The one with the eyebrow piercing glanced up at him and he quickly averted his eyes.

At that moment the door opened again and two young men walked in. They were around Baekhyun’s age, but he was surprised to see such well-dressed people in the gritty shop with its flickering florescent lights. They wore colourful floral print shirts under dark suits despite the heat. They were both tall and attractive, but the taller one caught his eye as he moseyed over to the shelf in the corner that sported a few figurines for sale. He gave the impression that he could not control his long limbs as he slouched over the miniature plastic Iron Mans. His ears poked out from beneath his shaggy bright red hair, the black roots betraying his natural colour, and he reminded Baekhyun a bit of a dog. His companion was pale and slender with cropped black hair and a fixed expression of pure disdain as he stood with crossed arms.

Upon seeing the two obviously wealthy newcomers the teenagers quickly muttered amongst themselves with raised eyebrows. The one with the eyebrow piercing, Baekhyun assumed him to be their leader, nudged his blond companion in the ribs. The boy hesitated before edging towards the two tall men who had their backs to the group, oblivious to their existence as they had been standing in a dark corner. Baekhyun watched as the blond boy edged towards the red-haired man. He tried to nonchalantly lean against the wall as he slowly outstretched his hand for the iPhone sticking out of the man’s back pocket. Baekhyun frowned in distaste.  

 “Hey, what are you doing?” Baekhyun said loudly. His voice broke the monotonous drone of the air-conditioning and caused everyone to jump.  
The red-haired man was even more surprised to see the blond teenager so close behind him and nearly knocked over the shelf he had been observing.  
 “He was trying to steal your phone,” Baekhyun said. His glanced up with wide eyes as if he had not seen Baekhyun behind the counter.

“Where’s you proof?” the leader of the group barked as he strode towards the counter. “You don't have any cameras in here.”  
He was leaning over aggressively, his face a mere centimetres from Baekhyun’s. His eyes were narrowed dangerously.  
Baekhyun was not scared. He could easily talk his way out of getting hit.  
But he was unable to control his mouth.  
 “If you’re going to steal, then at least put in some effort,” he said before he could stop himself.  
The boy’s hand jerked out and grabbed him by the front of his t-shirt and he yanked his head down onto the counter.

A brief moment of searing pain and the boy’s grip was suddenly released and Baekhyun lost his footing. He glanced up from the floor, clutching his bleeding forehead just in time to see the red-haired man knock the boy off his feet with a powerful punch. In his periphery he saw his companion make the slightest movement and the group gasped and scarpered from the shop.  
 “Don’t show yourselves here ever again,” the red-head said as he picked up the boy from the floor and threw him out the door.

Baekhyun had just gotten to his feet when the man rushed over to him with flailing arms.  
 “Are you okay?” he asked, bending slightly to be on eye-level with Baekhyun. His previous expression of fierce aggression had disappeared. His eyes were wide with concern. He also seemed to have no concept of personal space as he was close enough for Baekhyun to count his long eyelashes.  
 “’M fine,” Baekhyun said as he stepped back. “At least my glasses didn’t break.”  
The man quickly produced a handkerchief from his pocket.  
 “Here,” he said. Baekhyun held it to his forehead and smiled in appreciation.  
 “Thanks, by the way. I didn’t think they’d be so aggressive,” he said as he sat down on the stool.  
 “They had knives,” the companion said. The red-head grunted in disapproval.  
 “Hmpf. We should have taught them a lesson,” he muttered with folded arms.  
 “I think you put the fear of God into them, to be honest,” Baekhyun said. Then he quickly remembered the man’s interest in the shelf. “Do you still want to buy something?”

The man’s eyes lit up as a broad smile crossed his face as if he were at an amusement park rather than having just gotten into a fight.  
 “Actually, I’m looking for this limited edition figurine,” he said as he showed Baekhyun a picture on his phone. It was an expensive and intricately designed Iron Man figurine.  
 “Oh, no we don’t have it,” Baekhyun said. “We only have basic ones. But the store at the mall will probably have.”  
 “I told you,” the pale man said. Baekhyun wondered if he had been dragged around all day looking for the figurine.  
 “Ah, Sehun, you’re always so grumpy when it’s hot,” the man said with a smile and a shake of his head as if he were not on the receiving end of a strong glare. “Anyways, get yourself cleaned up, that wound’s bleeding a lot.”

Baekhyun didn’t know he was being addressed as he was rather focused on staring at the stranger’s face. It was nicely proportioned and his eyes were a shaped like very large almonds.  
Baekhyun burst out laughing when he slid a green note over the counter.  
The man had to be joking. Who just hands out money?

Apparently, this man did just hand out money, as his face had returned to a serious expression. It was such a sudden change that it hid any visages of previous cheer.  
 “I can’t take your money,” Baekhyun said, his mouth still curled in an astonished smile.  
 “Please accept it.”  
 “But I can’t.”  
 “I insist.”  
 “You’re being ridiculous.”  
 “You look ridiculous with that bleeding forehead.”  
 “Hey –" 

The man named Sehun strode forward, picked up the note and shoved it down the collar of Baekhyun’s t-shirt.  
 “Can we go now?”  
Baekhyun and the other man gaped for a moment and then burst out laughing. He slapped his friend’s shoulder as a way of expressing his laughter and the sight made Baekhyun laugh even more. He nearly toppled off his stool.  
 “Thanks anyway! Stay safe!” the red-head said loudly as his friend shoved him out the door.  
 “Thanks,” Baekhyun said with a smile still etched onto his face. Clutching the note in one hand and the bloodied handkerchief in the other he hurried to peer out the glass door just in time to see the two climb into an expensive black car. He recognised the Mercedes logo. The windows were tinted, which Baekhyun thought was slightly odd but cool nonetheless. As the car rolled out the side street he looked at the handkerchief.  
The name _Park Chanyeol_ was neatly embroidered into the corner.

* * *

 

The next day was hotter than the previous. It was uneventful until six o’clock rolled around and Baekhyun was busy locking up.  
He had just locked the door behind him when the screeching of tyres made him jump and a sleek black car skidded down the street and stopped in front of him. Park Chanyeol climbed out the back and bounded towards him. He wore a smart suit with a crisp shirt and tie and Baekhyun wondered how he was not sweating in the heat.

 “Hey, I wanted to check up on you!” Chanyeol said with a grin. Baekhyun could not help but smile at his bright expression.  
 “I’m alright. It wasn’t a deep cut,” he said as he brushed back his fringe to reveal the plaster on his forehead. He suddenly felt very self-conscious as Chanyeol scrutinised his face.  
 “That’s good,” he said with a firm nod. “I also wanted to ask for your name,” he said.  
 “Byun Baekhyun,” he replied. “I’m assuming you’re Park Chanyeol? It said so on your handkerchief.”

For a second an expression, whether one of dread or shock Baekhyun could not tell, crossed Chanyeol’s face but it was quickly replaced with a smile and a nod. Baekhyun thought he might have imagined it as a trick of the early evening light.  
 “I also wanted to ask about any racing games you have in stock,” he said.  
Baekhyun chuckled. He sounded like a child citing his Christmas list.  
 “You have a lot to ask, clearly,” he said. “I can show you now.”  
A grin spread across Chanyeol’s face so wide that it nearly reached his ears.

Baekhyun spent two hours with Chanyeol in the shop and it was the most entertaining two hours of the entire summer so far. Not only did they share an interest in gaming and general popular culture, but Baekhyun found that they shared the same sense of humour.  
Chanyeol’s laugh was actually the most entertaining for him. He would either hit the closest thing beside him or his own face when taken over by a bout of laughter.

Baekhyun knew that he was funny and that quick wit was a talent of his, but he felt a different type of contentment when making Chanyeol laugh than what he felt with his friends or acquaintances.   
They were in the midst of a laughing fit, sitting on the floor with the entire Gran Turismo series littered around them, when a sudden tapping on the glass door made them jump. The disgruntled face of an older man peered through the glass.

 “Oh, I think I should get going,” Chanyeol said as he recovered from his laughter.  
 “Is that your dad?” Baekhyun said as they got to their feet.  
 “My driver. But I’ll get in trouble if I stay any longer,” Chanyeol said with a regretful look at the expensive watch on his wrist. Baekhyun tried to ignore the fact that he had a driver.

Chanyeol placed a wad of money on the counter and piled the games into his arms.  
 “Hey, your change,” Baekhyun said in alarm as the man turned to leave the store.  
 “It’s a tip for working over-time,” he said with a grin as he opened the door with his foot. “Bye, Baekhyun!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the surprise of no one I wrote this during exams, because what else should I do with all that free time? Certainly not study. The whole fic is complete but I just need to proofread before posting the rest of it. Updates should be regular.   
> Enjoy :)


	2. Chapter Two

Baekhyun half-expected Chanyeol to turn up the next day and was slightly disappointed but not surprised when he didn’t.   
It had been a while since their last encounter. Baekhyun was idly folding the handkerchief into a neat square while he sat at the counter with his Nintendo in front of him. He had washed the handkerchief with the intention of returning it if he ever saw Chanyeol again. He had even used fabric softener.

When the door opened he was quick to glance up and his face broke into a smile when his two best friends walked in.   
 “Finally back from your honeymoon!” he chirped as Jongdae and Minseok came round the counter to greet him.   
 “It wasn’t a honeymoon,” Minseok said with an eye-roll while ignoring Jongdae’s flustered splutters.  “We wanted to do something over the holidays.”   
Baekhyun wiggled his eyebrows with a smirk.   
 “Hmm, I’m sure you two were doing a lot – OW!”   
Minseok had hit him on the arm and promptly snatched his Nintendo. He ignored Jongdae’s silent struggle between trying to contain his mortified shriek and to hide behind his hands out of embarrassment.

 “So how was it? Jeju Island, right?” Baekhyun asked with a chuckle.   
 “It was great,” Jongdae said, having finally recovered. “The beaches are beautiful! I’ve never eaten so much seafood in my life.”

Baekhyun turned up his nose.   
 “At this rate I don’t think I’ll ever eat seafood again. The restaurant next door is rank,” he said. Minseok glanced up, now disinterested in in Super Mario Brothers as Baekhyun saw he was losing dismally.   
 “We were concerned about you getting cabin fever,” he said with a serious expression. “That restaurant never bothered you before. You need to get out more, Baekhyun.”    
Baekhyun frowned. This wasn’t the first time he had gotten the speech about being a social recluse.   
 “Hey, I get out every day to walk to this job!”   
Minseok cocked an eyebrow.   
 “Wow, such a gruelling journey to walk half a kilometre from your house,” he said. “I’m sure you’ve met all walks of life.” Jongdae snickered.   
 “You’re looking a bit pale too,” he said as he held his own tanned hand against Baekhyun’s face. He frowned at his friends.

Baekhyun really hated this conversation. It was old news. They had known each other since primary school. He and Jongdae had been the class clowns with Minseok being the responsible and observant student two years above them who had taken a liking to them in an attempt to protect them from their own idiocy.

They were well into their second year of university now, with Minseok doing his post-graduate, so he and Jongdae should know that he was never going to change. He got the nagging regularly from his mother and cousin and he certainly didn’t need it from his friends.

“This is rich coming from you two,” he said as he folded his arms. “You’re just as reclusive as me. Now you’ve gone on your spiritual island adventure and you think you know everything.”   
 Minseok laughed with the right side of his mouth raised slightly higher than the left. Despite his embarrassment Jongdae appeared to be unable to resist Minseok’s quirk and threw his arm around his shoulders. Baekhyun withheld a snide comment. They made a cute couple after all.   
 “Baekhyun, you do nothing all day. Like, absolutely nothing,” Jongdae said with a kind smile. “We’re just concerned for your health.”

Baekhyun bristled.   
 “My health is fine, thank you very much,” he said stiffly. “And I actually like doing nothing. But I’m sure you’ll be pleased to hear that the monotony was broken when I got into a fight a while ago.”   
Minseok and Jongdae straightened up, no longer smiling.   
 “What? In _here_?” Minseok asked. Baekhyun pushed back his hair to reveal the small red scar on his forehead.   
 “These teenagers came in and tried to pickpocket a customer, so I called them out but they wanted to fight,” Baekhyun explained as he reclaimed his stool from Minseok.   
 “But the guy floored him, it was really cool actually.” He gazed wistfully out the window as if recalling a pleasant picnic.   
 “Ugh, hooligans,” Jongdae muttered. “What’s this?” He noticed the handkerchief on the counter and picked it up. Baekhyun suddenly felt strangely possessive over it and didn’t want Jongdae to unfold it.   
 “The customer gave it to me for my head,” he said. Jongdae’s eyes widened.   
 “Park Chanyeol? _The_ Park Chanyeol?” he said and Minseok’s lips parted in surprise.

Baekhyun was lost.   
 “Uh, I suppose?” he said slowly. Jongdae shook his head.   
 “Dude, this is why you need to get out more. He’s the successor of Park Group,” he said, hitting Baekhyun’s arm for emphasis. “His family owns half of Seoul.”   
Baekhyun shrugged.   
 “He could be, but it’s a common name, isn’t it?”   
 “Is this him?” Minseok said as he showed Baekhyun his phone.

Now he was surprised. The internet search results showed Chanyeol, the very same one who had given him his handkerchief.  Some pictures showed him attending galas and events, pristinely dressed, while others showed him standing with a group of men in front of a tall glass building. It was odd to see him without his endearing smile and looking like a cold businessman well past his age.

 “Yeah, that’s him,” Baekhyun said slowly. He felt rather ignorant now.   
 “Uh, what does his company do?”   
Minseok scoffed at him.   
 “They make just about everything, even though it might not have their name on it. You know Chung Electricals? They’re actually owned by Park Group,” he explained, sticking out his thumb and starting to count.   
 “So it’s Chung Electricals, as well as a telecommunications company, and they own an airline.” He paused in thought.   
 “Don’t they own hotels? The Phoenix Hotel chain?” Jongdae said. Minseok nodded.    
 “So they’re just your average conglomerate?” Baekhyun said with his eyes still fixed on the image results of Chanyeol.   
 “He did seem rich.”   
 “What was he doing in here, of all places?” Jongdae asked.   
 “He was looking for Iron Man figures,” Baekhyun said with an amused smile.   
Minseok narrowed his eyes in disbelief.   
 “That’s…weird,” he said. Then he shrugged.   
 “Anyways, at least you didn’t get throttled by a group of kids.”

Minseok and Jongdae stayed for the remainder of the afternoon and Baekhyun was glad to have their company. However he could not stop his mind from drifting to thoughts of Chanyeol.   
The heir of a massive conglomerate, someone who travelled with a driver in a tinted Mercedes-Benz, had chosen to come back to the tiny out-dated shop in a rank-smelling alley in search of video games.

Suddenly Baekhyun remembered the money.   
 “He gave me money!” he exclaimed, interrupting Jongdae’s story about Jeju. He raised an eyebrow.   
 “What?”   
Baekhyun grabbed a small Rilakkuma piggy bank from under the counter where he had stored the money Chanyeol had given him. He opened it and showed his friends the thick wad of notes.   
 “He _gave_ you all of this?” Minseok spluttered as he counted the notes. “This is more than my weekly wages at the coffee shop!”   
 “I wasn’t going to spend it,” Baekhyun said defensively. “But now I think I have to give it back to him.” He shoved the wad back inside the piggy bank.   
 “I don’t know if he’ll come back here, though,” he said with a hint of disappointment that was not unnoticed by Minseok. He smirked but remained silent and Baekhyun did not want to enquire.   
 “Anyways, when your shift is over let’s go out,” Minseok said instead. Baekhyun felt hesitant.   
 “I don’t know,” he said. As much as he loved his friends, he would have preferred to remain in the safe confines of the shop or his apartment.   
 “It’s not up to you and you need some fresh air,” Minseok said firmly. Baekhyun was reluctant as he was a dismal lightweight, while Minseok could hold his alcohol like a sailor. But he was too happy to be reunited with his friends to refuse them.

* * *

 

Baekhyun sat slumped over the counter with his head in his arms, cursing himself and his friends for every drink they had last night.  The stifling heat only worsened his headache. He glanced up at the clock on the wall and was relieved to see that it was nearly time to close up the shop.

To his great surprise and joy the door opened and Chanyeol bounded inside.   
 “Baekhyun! How are you?” His voice was exceptionally loud for Baekhyun’s hangover, but even in his state he could not allow it to annoy him as he was just so happy to see Chanyeol again.   
 “I’m on the brink of death, but I’m alive,” he said with a grin, making Chanyeol laugh. “What brings you here again?”   
“I want gaming headphones,” he said with a nod. He was wearing another tropical print shirt in a pastel pink shade that clashed wonderfully with his hair, without a blazer this time, but still wearing smart dark slacks and leather shoes.

He looked as if he owned a yacht, which Baekhyun thought he probably did. He suddenly remembered the money and the handkerchief.   
 “I’m returning this to you,” Baekhyun said as he produced the neatly-folded handkerchief and the piggy bank. Chanyeol cocked is head in confusion.   
 “I can’t accept your money,” Baekhyun said.  
 “What if I don’t want it back?” Chanyeol said with a defiant pout that almost made Baekhyun laugh.  He was trying to be taken seriously, but he knew he was fighting a losing battle.    
 “Okay, then I’ll let you take the headphones for free,” he suggested, but Chanyeol shook his head adamantly. He pocketed the handkerchief, then picked up the piggy bank and examined it.   
 “This is cute, where did you get it?” he asked. Baekhyun was taken aback.   
 “Don’t change the subject. I can’t let you give me money! I feel like I’m stealing.”

Chanyeol shrugged, twisting the piggy bank in his hands before putting it back on the counter.   
 “Think of it as a token of my thanks,” he said in a very smooth business-like tone. Baekhyun was sure he had been well-trained to speak like that.   
 “I keep coming here when your shift is over, I’m inconveniencing you.”   
 “You really aren’t,” Baekhyun said before he could stop himself. Chanyeol blinked then glanced down at the floor with a shy smile. Baekhyun tried to ignore the heat in his ears.   
 “Anyway, you’re the heir of Park Group! You can’t just be throwing money around.”

Now Chanyeol looked up with furrowed brows.   
 “Oh, I thought you didn’t know. I don’t like to advertise it,” he said as he scratched the back of his head.   
 “I have internet, you know,” Baekhyun said with a triumphant smile. Though he could not figure out why Chanyeol would want to keep his identity a secret, or why he looked so disappointed.  
 “Hey, I won’t run to the press telling them you hand out money,” he said in an effort to comfort him. Chanyeol smiled and Baekhyun felt warmth in his chest.

A sudden idea came to his mind.   
 “Okay, if you won’t let me give it back to you, then at least let me spend it on you,” he suggested. Chanyeol looked confused. “Let me buy you something to eat at least. There’s a great grill stand around the corner.”   
Chanyeol’s expression radiated happiness and it made Baekhyun slightly flustered.

Baekhyun then remembered why Chanyeol had come there in the first place.   
 “Also, I don’t think we have any good headphones in stock,” he said as he walked around the counter to the small cabinet that held a few gaming accessories. It was the first time he was standing properly next to Chanyeol and he realised that he barely reached his earlobes.   
 “There’s one basic headset, but it’s not great,” he said. “Sorry.”

Chanyeol waved aside his apology.   
 “Did you check out the shop at the mall for the Iron Man figure? They’d also probably have a headset,” Baekhyun said. He started packing away the things from the counter while Chanyeol rocked on the balls of his feet, observing the shop as if it was the first time he had been there.   
 “Yeah,” Chanyeol said. “I thought of just ordering online but I’m too impatient to wait for it to deliver. But I also found two other figurines at that shop.”

They chatted pleasantly while Baekhyun made sure everything was secure and locked away.   
 “Now let’s go eat!” he said eagerly as he locked the door behind him. He gestured for Chanyeol to follow him down the street but Chanyeol instead took his arm and pulled him towards the car.   
 “It’s not that far,” Baekhyun spluttered when Chanyeol opened the door and gently pushed him inside.

The only luxurious car he had ever been in was his uncle’s and even then the engine made a weird rattling sound.   
He had never been inside such an expensive car before. Baekhyun felt as though he might dirty the cream leather seats with his tattered jeans and backpack. Chanyeol slid in beside him.   


“Where is it?” he asked Baekhyun. Then he suddenly noticed the silent man in the driver’s seat. He recognised him as the man from the previous time Chanyeol had visited. Feeling slightly nervous, Baekhyun directed the driver out the side street and down the road. The car glided across the tarmac and Baekhyun felt as though he had to sit up straight at all times with his knees together while Chanyeol lounged casually beside him.

“It’s here,” he said. The car stopped beside one of the many stalls that made up the area’s night market. He struggled with the door handle and nearly jumped when Chanyeol reached over him to open it with his knee just brushing against Baekhyun’s leg. He quickly scrambled out into the sweltering night air and Chanyeol followed.

He bought Chanyeol and himself as much grilled meat as they could carry before sitting on a nearby bench. The sun was starting to set and it cast the street in a warm pink glow that made Chanyeol look as though his hair was on fire. The sound of cicadas was replaced by loud night insects and it made a very pleasant ambiance.

“Fanks,” Chanyeol said through a mouthful of pork. “Although you shouldn’t have.”  “Let’s see how much I still owe you,” Baekhyun said as he counted the money in his lap. He chewed on his food absent-mindedly while he sorted through the notes.   
 “There’s still ₩100 000 left!” He gasped through his full mouth and a piece of chicken caught in his throat. He coughed, eyes wide with panic, thinking that he was going to die on a bench next to the heir of Park Group.

Chanyeol quickly thumped him on the back with such force that he nearly flew off the bench and he spat out the chicken.   
 “Oh my God,” he gasped, half-mortified and half-amused. His face flushed. Chanyeol stared with concern, though he looked as though he was trying to contain a laugh.   
 “I could use your handkerchief again,” Baekhyun said and Chanyeol burst out laughing.

They watched the sun set and disappear over the peaks of buildings while they ate and Baekhyun felt very content. He hardly noticed time passing while he spoke with Chanyeol. Then all of a sudden it was dark and a street lamp above them turned on and cast them in a bright glow. The market was buzzing with life, illuminated by the neon lights of the surrounding city buildings.

 “Is that the time already?” Chanyeol sighed, looking at his watch. Baekhyun wondered if it was a Rolex.    
 “Hey, I still have to spend the rest of this ₩100 000 on you,” Baekhyun said as he slouched on the bench. He didn’t want to move as he was too full and content. Chanyeol gave the ground another shy smile to Baekhyun’s bewilderment.   
 “Let’s go for barbeque or something,” Baekhyun said as he stretched his arms over his head. He was letting his mouth work on impulse again but he felt that he had no inhibitions with Chanyeol.

He looked up sharply in surprise and then grinned.     
 “Okay! When?”   
Baekhyun shrugged.   
 “Friday after my shift?” he suggested. “It’s not far from here.”   
Chanyeol nodded in agreement. He stood up and stretched his long limbs.   
 “Let me give you a lift home,” he said. Before Baekhyun could protest Chanyeol was already pulling him back to the car by his sleeve.   
 “It’s dark and it’s not safe for you to walk home alone,” he said with a tone of finality as he clambered in after Baekhyun.

 “You’re doing too much for me,” he stuttered. “You’ve saved my life twice already.”   
Chanyeol laughed and slapped his knees. Baekhyun grinned at the sight of him.   
“How lost I’ve been all these years without you to save me from horrors of teenagers and chicken!” he cried dramatically and held his hand to his forehead. Chanyeol, overcome by laugher, had tears leaking from his eyes and ended up slapping Baekhyun’s leg with his flailing arms and nearly fell out his seat.   
 “Sorry!” he gasped through his tears and laughter when Baekhyun winced through his own laugher.   
A curt grunt from the front seat reminded the both of them of the driver.

Once again Baekhyun gave him directions and they eventually arrived outside a small convenience shop.   
 “I rent the bachelor apartment upstairs,” Baekhyun explained to Chanyeol.   
He didn’t want to leave. In fact he wanted to carry on laughing and being silly with the lanky well-dressed man.   
 “I’ll pick you up on Friday! Thanks, Baekhyun!” Chanyeol said with a grin while Baekhyun climbed out the car. He rolled down the window and stuck out his head, looking more like a dog than ever. Baekhyun could not help but smile as he unlocked the glass door, knowing that Chanyeol was waiting until he was safely inside before leaving. He locked the door and waved at Chanyeol as the car rolled away, grinning as his gangly arm faded out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> XiuChen are my sons. That's all I have to say.


	3. Chapter Three

It was Friday afternoon and Baekhyun, Minseok, and Jongdae were focused on their Nintendos in the shop. Minseok sat on the stool with Jongdae on the floor leaning against his legs. Baekhyun was sprawled out on the cool linoleum tiles and held the console above his face.

“No! Dammit!” Baekhyun wailed as his character died. He crossed his arms over his face and sighed dramatically.   
“Since when does Minseok beat you, Baekhyun?” Jongdae asked with a laugh, earning a playful cuff on the head from his boyfriend.   
“I think I’m just hungry,” Baekhyun sighed. “I didn’t want to eat too much for lunch so I can have more room for barbeque tonight.”

Jongdae and Minseok shared bewildered glances.   
 “Barbeque?” Jongdae asked.   
 “Oh, with Chanyeol. I forgot to tell you,” Baekhyun said as he sat up on his elbows. He thought that their surprised gasps were unnecessary and raised an eyebrow.   
 “So you’re going on a date?” Minseok said. Baekhyun wrinkled his nose.  
 “What? No –“   
 “Oh my God, it’s our Baekhee’s first date!” Jongdae exclaimed as he tugged on Minseok’s hand for emphasis.

Baekhyun felt the heat rise in his cheeks.   
 “It’s just barbeque after my shift. It really isn’t a big deal – “   
 “That’s in two hours!” Minseok exclaimed as he jumped from the stool and over Jongdae. “You can’t go looking like that!”

Baekhyun huffed indignantly and glanced down at his white t-shirt and black shorts.   
 “So I must put on a ball gown?” he asked sarcastically. Minseok grabbed him under the armpits and lifted him to his feet.   
 “Come to my place quickly. I’ll make you look decent.” He was a man on a mission and Baekhyun knew that he couldn’t be swayed.   
 “But the shop – “   
 “Jongdae can watch for a while,” Minseok said and Jongdae nodded in agreement. Minseok pecked him on the cheek, nearly killing him from embarrassment to Baekhyun’s great amusement, before he grabbed Baekhyun and dragged him from the shop.

“Dude, it’s not that deep,” Baekhyun said as they hurried through the streets.   
 “Baekhyun, I just want the best for you,” Minseok said. “You know you’re like my little brother.”   
Baekhyun rolled his eyes. He heard that enough from Junmyeon, and he basically was his brother.   
 “By the way, I’m so much less of a third-wheel now that you and Jongdae are finally together,” he said as he followed Minseok into his apartment building.   
 “Before you confessed it was downright annoying sometimes.”

Minseok smirked at him over his shoulder while he unlocked the door.   
 “Maybe we can go on a double-date with you and Chanyeol,” he said. Baekhyun spluttered incoherently while trying to think of a good comeback.   
 “We’re just friends,” he said lamely. It was always difficult for him to make Minseok feel embarrassed about Jongdae.

Minseok’s apartment was impeccably clean, and even more so now that Jongdae practically lived there on the weekends. He followed Minseok to his bedroom.   
 “I think we should do something with your hair,” he said thoughtfully. “Just a standard blow-out.”   
Baekhyun curled his lip in distaste. It was one thing for Minseok to go the extra mile in his appearance though he hardly needed to do anything as his neatly parted hair always easily fell into place. But as for himself Baekhyun thought he was rather plain. He knew he needed a haircut, as his fringe was getting in his eyes and it was getting too long at the sides, but he didn’t want anything that required styling.

He allowed Minseok to rinse his hair in the basin and cursed all the while from getting water in his eyes.   
 “I swear you’re whinier than Jongdae,” Minseok grumbled as he pulled a towel over Baekhyun’s face to shut him up. He steered Baekhyun over to the dressing table and forced him onto the chair.   
 “You’re the worst stylist,” Baekhyun said with a pout. Minseok ignored him before he started to blow-dry his hair.   
Baekhyun swore and flinched at the sound and the hot air blowing onto his face and all the unnecessary tugging.

But when Minseok was done he blinked in surprise at his reflection. His hair was neatly parted to the side like Minseok’s, with the fringe curling ever so slightly and exposing his forehead. Minseok rummaged through his cupboard before handing Baekhyun a pair of fitted jeans and a white t-shirt that was half the size of his own.   
 “What’s wrong with my shirt?” Baekhyun asked indignantly.   
 “Your lunch is on it and its five sizes too big for you,” Minseok said bluntly.

Baekhyun changed while muttering under his breath but when he saw his reflection he hardly recognised himself.   
 “There, now you look older than twenty,” Minseok said with a satisfied smirk. Baekhyun felt slightly uncomfortable in the tight-fitting clothes. But he also didn’t want to look shabby next to Chanyeol so he decided to put up with it.   
They returned to the shop and Jongdae frowned at Baekhyun.   
 “Those are my pants,” he said.   
 “You’re the same size,” Minseok said, immediately placating him.   
 “It’s time for us to go anyway,” he said with a glance at the clock on the wall. Jongdae gave Baekhyun a reassuring hug.   
 “Let us know how it goes. I’ll want every detail,” Minseok said as if he were sending Baekhyun off to his first day of school. He smiled at his friends despite his discomfort. They really wanted the best for him so he couldn’t find it in himself to be annoyed with them in any way.  
 “I’ll live-tweet it if I’m feeling festive enough,” Baekhyun said with a wave as they exited the shop.

Baekhyun was tense while he waited for six o’clock to arrive.  
_It certainly isn’t a date._   
_What is a date, anyway?_  
But regardless of whatever it was, why did he feel so damn nervous? He hadn’t been anxious when he ate on the bench with Chanyeol.

Actually, he hadn’t been nervous at all until Minseok and Jongdae blew it out of proportion. He even closed up the shop five minutes earlier so that he could sit on the step outside the front door and play games on his phone in an effort to distract himself. A gust of chilly wind cut through the heat made him shiver and he checked the time.   
_18:20_  
He bit his bottom lip. Perhaps there was heavy traffic.   
He went back to the game, but his fingers were clumsy and he kept losing.   
_18:34_.   
He sighed and glanced up at the sky. It was dark with heavy rainclouds. He didn’t have an umbrella. There was a low rumble of thunder and he drew his knees to his chest. He really hated thunder and hoped Chanyeol would arrive at that minute.

_18:44_  
A fat raindrop hit Baekhyun on the nose before a clap of thunder made him jump and the heavens opened. He tried to push himself against the wall of the shop to shelter from the rain but it was of no use. He was drenched and his hairstyle stood no chance. With a heavy sigh he held his backpack above his head and turned to leave the side street.

He had run back to his flat as fast as possible without slipping on the pavement. He didn’t know if it was his fear from the storm or his emotions but he really wanted to cry. He stripped off his drenched clothes and threw himself into the shower and turned up the water so that it nearly scalded his cold skin.

This was exactly why he was antisocial.   
This was why he liked staying inside and doing nothing.   
People would always disappoint him.   
Jongdae and Minseok were his best friends. Why would he need any more?

He climbed out the shower with tears in the corners of his eyes but he held them back. He threw on a pair of boxers and a t-shirt before throwing himself under the unmade duvet without even drying his hair. Despite how early it was he didn’t feel like doing anything else so all he could do was sleep.

The thunder continued outside and the flashes of the lightening illuminated his dark room but he buried himself under the duvet and blankets so that he wouldn’t have to see it. He didn’t have the energy to make dinner, and so he fell asleep hungry, miserable, and with an unpleasant cold chill on his head.

* * *

 

There was a loud pounding sound that Baekhyun heard in his dream and he awoke with a start feeling groggy and disorientated. His room was in disarray with wet clothes on the floor meeting the blankets he had kicked off during the night.

Yawning, he reached for his phone and saw that it was seven o’clock. The pounding persisted and in his sleepy state he was slow to realise that it was someone knocking on his front door.

He hoped to all the heavenly powers that it wasn’t his landlord coming to collect rent early or something. He clambered out of bed and stumbled to the front door. As he had forgotten his glasses he thought that his sight must truly be failing him when he opened the door and saw Chanyeol standing on the landing. He had to crouch slightly due to the low ceiling but when the door opened he immediately bent in a deep bow.

 “Please forgive me,” he said formally. Baekhyun squinted in disbelief. Only then did he realise that he was still in his boxers and sleeping shirt and tried to hide behind the door. Chanyeol seemed to notice his movement and got onto his knees in a moment of panic.

 “I’m so sorry. Please don’t think I forgot,” he said from the floor. Baekhyun could only stare in astonishment before he gathered his wits. He bent down and lifted Chanyeol’s arm in an attempt to get him to stand but he was very heavy and didn’t budge. Chanyeol scrambled to his feet and Baekhyun noticed that he sported a bruise on his cheekbone.

“Are you okay? What happened?” he asked, immediately forgetting the mess of his flat and pulling Chanyeol inside by his wrist.   
 “Some stuff happened,” he said uneasily. Baekhyun closed the door behind him and gestured for him to sit at the small kitchen table. Baekhyun rubbed his eyes and sat across from him.

 “What kind of stuff?” he asked. Chanyeol twisted his hands in his lap.   
 “I can’t really talk about it,” he said with his eyes fixed firmly on the floor. “But I swear on my life I didn’t forget. It was out of my control.”   
Baekhyun frowned, threatening to let his emotions cloud his judgement, but Chanyeol’s face was lined with genuine worry.

 “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” Baekhyun said. He assumed that Chanyeol had some personal issues and he didn’t want to be intrusive.   
 “Uh, do you want coffee?”   
Chanyeol’s eyes were so wide it was disconcerting.   
 “I don’t deserve any hospitality.”   
Baekhyun folded his arms and stood up from his chair.  
“I’m making you coffee and you’d better drink it.”

Chanyeol visibly shrank in his chair and Baekhyun burst out laughing. It was impossible to even feign anger at him. He put on the kettle and took out the only two mugs he owned, choosing the Superman one for Chanyeol. He still looked a bit nervous and remained silent at the table.   
 “I understand that it was out of your control, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said gently as he spooned the powdered coffee into the mugs.   
 “How many sugars?”   
 “None and no milk, please,” Chanyeol murmured. He sat up in his chair. “So you’re not mad?”   
Baekhyun shook his head.   
 “I was just a little sad, that’s all,” he said with a determined effort to avoid eye-contact. He decided not to tell Chanyeol how miserable he had really felt. Now that he thought about it he had gone a bit overboard.   
 “And there was a storm and I’m really scared of storms.”

He regretted the last part. Chanyeol looked as though he had left a puppy out in the cold.   
 “I’m really sorry,” he said in a small voice that contrasted comically with his large frame. Baekhyun fought the urge to pat his head.   
He handed him his coffee and sat down opposite him.

 “It was just a misunderstanding,” Baekhyun said before taking a gulp of his extremely milky coffee.   
 “Let’s forget about it.”   
Chanyeol’s face brightened but when he took a sip of the coffee he coughed and it dribbled down his chin. Baekhyun laughed at his bewildered face.   
 “S-sorry,” he gasped. “Is this filter coffee?” Baekhyun laughed even more.   
 “No, it’s just peasant coffee,” he said. Chanyeol took another sip as if he were tasting wine.

He smacked his lips and wrinkled his nose in deep concentration.   
 “I can get used to it,” he admitted. “So, do you want to go for breakfast instead?”   
Baekhyun nearly choked. He was content enough to drink cheap coffee in his messy room with Chanyeol but the thought of finally going to eat with him made his chest swell.

“Yeah, sure,” he said before he could contain his eagerness. He drained his mug and jumped up from the chair. He suddenly remembered that he had just gotten out of bed and that his hair was probably a disaster and that he had not brushed his teeth or washed his face. He tried to discreetly tug at the hem of his boxers to try and hide his very exposed legs.

 “Uh, I just need to get dressed and stuff,” he said awkwardly. Chanyeol seemed to possess a small degree of tact and quickly downed his own coffee, forgetting that it was still steaming hot. Baekhyun ushered him outside while laughing at his coughs.

He had never gotten ready so quickly in his life before. He threw the wet clothes into the laundry hamper, not before debating whether or not Jongdae’s jeans could be salvaged, but decided on his own pair of jeans and a black t-shirt that wasn’t too big. He grabbed his backpack and slipped on his Vans as he opened the door to find Chanyeol patiently waiting with his hands behind his back.   
 “Let’s go!” Baekhyun said eagerly.  

He was surprised to see a different driver but didn’t ask about it.   
 “We’re going to eat the greatest breakfast ever,” Chanyeol said with a nod.   
 “Hey, we’re going to the Gangnam hotel,” he said to the driver. Baekhyun thought he had misheard Chanyeol. He had never been to Gangnam, having only heard about it through television. What could he do there with his dismal student budget, anyway?   
 “Do you play League of Legends?” Chanyeol asked and Baekhyun suddenly forgot about his finances and Gangnam altogether.   
 “Chanyeol, we have much to discuss,” he said as he turned his body to face the grinning man.

Baekhyun hardly noticed that the car had stopped until Chanyeol was reaching over him again to open his door. He still just as taken aback and somewhat more flustered.   
 “Uh, thank you,” Baekhyun said with a small bow to the driver. He hadn’t said it to the previous driver and felt that he shouldn’t be rude. The driver gave him a raised eyebrow and a nod. Then Baekhyun turned around and gawked at the building before him.

It was the five-star Phoenix Hotel. It boasted a modern glass and chrome design and extended up so high that Baekhyun had to crane his neck. There had to have been at least thirty floors.

 “Come on, let’s carry on talking inside,” Chanyeol said brightly at Baekhyun’s side. He felt as if he were in a daze as he entered the hotel lobby. The interior looked like something out of a film. It was slightly imposing due to the grey wooden panelling but the cream furniture and modern chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling brightened the room and made the dark marbled floor glimmer. There was even a modest fountain in the centre. Pink and purple orchids caught his eye and they were well-suited to the minimalistic décor.

He followed Chanyeol through the lobby, trying to hide himself with the man’s height, and they entered what he assumed to be the dining room. He felt extremely out of place. The guests at breakfast were all impeccably dressed and yet Baekhyun was trying to not let his frayed Vans squeak on the shiny floor.

A waiter greeted Chanyeol politely, and Baekhyun realised he was being greeted too when he was addressed as sir.   
 “My usual table thanks,” Chanyeol said. “Baekhyun? Why are you so quiet? You were telling me about mages.”   
 “Uh…” Baekhyun could not make his mouth work.

The dining room had the same theme as the foyer and it was a lot for him to take him so early in the morning. He followed Chanyeol to a secluded booth table that was cornered in by a massive window that showed a view of the sprawling gardens. It created the illusion that they were not in the middle of a city.

 “Sorry, does your family own this?” he asked in an attempt to find the nerves in his tongue again. The chairs were even made from leather.   
 “Yeah, all of the Phoenix Hotels,” Chanyeol replied as he gazed out the window. “But this one makes the best breakfasts.”

The waiter appeared again and Chanyeol ordered what sounded like enough food for an army. Baekhyun suddenly sat up in a moment of realisation.   
 “Wait a minute,” he said. “I’m supposed to be treating _you_ to food. I still have the ₩100000.”   
Chanyeol grinned mischievously.   
 “Well, I owe you for making you walk home in a storm,” he said before sitting back with the air of triumph. Baekhyun pulled a face at him. Chanyeol was difficult to argue with when he wore that lopsided smirk.

They spoke about League of Legends until the food arrived and they ate in silence for a few minutes, savouring the hot meals, before resuming their passionate conversation. Baekhyun was hardly aware of time passing, as his coffee never ran out and his plate never emptied.

They were well into an in-depth discussion on Final Fantasy when a figure approached the table. Baekhyun recognised his disdainful expression, but it was more severe now as he had a black eye that had been partially covered up with makeup. Baekhyun thought it had some connection with the bruise on Chanyeol’s face but he knew it would be rude to pry.

“Sehun!” Chanyeol said happily. “Come join us, I’m sure there’s some food left for you.”   
Sehun remained standing.   
 “You two are making a lot of noise,” he said monotonously. Baekhyun turned around and surely enough some of the patrons were staring in their direction.

While Chanyeol certainly had no qualms about noise, hell it was his own hotel, Baekhyun shrank in his chair. He didn’t want to make Chanyeol look bad. Chanyeol moved in his seat, sidling closer to Baekhyun, to allow Sehun to sit down.

One thing that Baekhyun noticed about Sehun was that he had incredible posture. And features. He looked very much like a model. Actually, the closer he looked the more familiar he seemed. Baekhyun was sure he had seen him on a billboard or a magazine cover somewhere.  
 “Er, are you a model?” Baekhyun asked hesitantly. Sehun nodded.   
 “My father is a major shareholder in Vogue Korea,” he explained while carefully cutting his omelette.   
 “Park Group has shares in Vogue, so we’ve been friends since before we could even recognise each other,” Chanyeol said with a grin and a hand on Sehun’s shoulder. His expression remained stoic though he nodded in agreement.

Chanyeol resumed his conversation with Baekhyun but he was slightly wary of Sehun. He didn’t understand how someone as loud and cheery as Chanyeol could be best friends with someone as stoic and unreadable as Sehun.

Only when they got onto the subject of gaming consoles did he speak.   
 “PlayStation or PC?” he asked Baekhyun with the air of someone proposing a business ultimatum.   
 “Definitely PC,” Baekhyun said. “But I also have a Nintendo.”   
He did not expect Sehun, of all people, to go on a passionate tirade about Mario Karts.   
 “And then you slip on your own banana and there’s no point in living anymore,” he concluded with a shake of his head. Baekhyun snorted, dribbling juice down his front and Chanyeol doubled over in a fit of laughter.

 “Ah, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said as he wiped a tear from his eye. Sehun handed Baekhyun a serviette, his disdainful expression replaced with a small smile.   
 “I’m glad we happened to be in your shop when you nearly got beaten up.”   
Sehun and Baekhyun howled with laughter, with Sehun’s unexpectedly goofy laugh only making Baekhyun laugh more, while Chanyeol tried to reword himself.

“I don’t mean I’m glad about _that_ ,” he stuttered. “I just mean that if that hadn’t happened then I probably wouldn’t have gone back to check on you.”   
Baekhyun recovered himself while holding his sides. Chanyeol looked very flustered and slapped Sehun on the arm.

 “How did you even hear about the shop in the first place? I get, like, one customer per week,” Baekhyun asked. Sehun exchanged the briefest glance with Chanyeol but Baekhyun could not decipher if it carried any meaning.   
 “I was just in the neighbourhood,” Chanyeol said with a wave of his hand.   
 “And Sehun’s a terrible driver, so I think we also got lost.”   
Sehun shot him a glare that made Baekhyun quail but Chanyeol obliviously had another mouthful of eggs.

He glanced at his Rolex. Baekhyun was now entirely sure it was a Rolex.   
 “It’s already eleven! Baekhyun, let’s go to the game shop,” he said brightly. “Do you want to come, Sehun?”   
He shook his head.   
 “I’ve got work to do. Make sure you’re back by five,” he said as he stood up from the table.   
“Goodbye, Baekhyun,” he said with the same small smile.

“You know it usually takes way longer for him to warm up to people,” Chanyeol said with a thoughtful nod while he watched Sehun leave the dining room.   
 “But you’re so likeable, Baekhyun.”   
 “Thanks,” he said with a grin despite feeling a light fluttering sensation in his stomach.   
 “What work would he do on a Saturday afternoon?”   
 “Modelling stuff,” Chanyeol said with a shrug. “Anyway, let’s go to the mall!”   
 “I have to go to work at twelve, though,” Baekhyun said with a frown.   
Chanyeol pouted slightly.   
 “Why don’t you take the day off? Just for today?” he suggested. “It’s not like your boss is there or anything.”

Baekhyun bit his bottom lip. As much as he found the job incredibly tedious, he did not want to betray his uncle’s trust.   
Then again, his uncle had not warned him of how the job would make him want to gouge out his own eyes from boredom.

 “You drive a hard bargain,” Baekhyun said before he stood up.   
 “By the way, how did you convince the shop owner to come up to my flat? She even refuses to let my other friends come up alone.”   
Chanyeol grinned and shrugged with a tilt of his head.  
 “People can’t say no to me.”   
Baekhyun could not agree more.

* * *

 

After having so much fun that it was almost criminal, Baekhyun was sad to be leaving Chanyeol.   
 “Hey, before I forget, give me your number so we can meet up again,” Chanyeol said as he passed Baekhyun his phone.   
 “Baekhyunie,” Chanyeol chuckled at the nickname and Baekhyun smiled proudly at himself. It really was a different type of feeling when he made Chanyeol happy.   
“I don’t really use social media or anything, so just stick to texting me.”   
 “We should also meet up on League of Legends,” Baekhyun said. “Where do you have to be now, anyway?”   
 “Some family function,” Chanyeol said with an eye-roll.

The car stopped outside the convenience shop.   
 “Well, I’ll see you, Baekhyunie!” Chanyeol said cheerily before giving Baekhyun a pat on the shoulder.   
 “Thanks for today, Chanyeolee,” he replied as he climbed out the car.

He watched as it turned the corner before turning to enter the shop. He greeted the owner as she swept the entrance and she shot him a frown. She was the wife of the landlord, and Baekhyun was slightly scared of both of them, so he was not surprised by her demeanour.

However, when he reached the landing he did not expect to see Junmyeon sitting on the top step with his head in his hands.   
 “Baekhyun!” he shouted. He looked half hysterical and Baekhyun nearly fell back down the stairs.   
 “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick!”   
 “Calm down,” Baekhyun said as he moved past him to unlock his door, only to find that it was already open.   
 “Hey, did you break into my apartment again?” he asked in annoyance. It wasn’t the first time Junmyeon had lost his mind over Baekhyun.

While they were cousins they were practically like brothers. Junmyeon was extremely protective over Baekhyun to the point where it got annoyingly overbearing.   
 “Look at your phone, for the love of God,” Junmyeon sighed as he collapsed onto the chair at the table. Baekhyun took out his phone from his bag and gasped when he saw he had several missed calls not only from Junmyeon, but from Jongdae and Minseok. 

 “Oh, it was on vibrate,” he muttered. He decided that Junmyeon needed a cup of strong tea for his nerves.   
 “You’ll get grey hairs like this, you know.”   
 “Don’t bullshit me, Baekhyun,” he snapped.   
 “I went to the shop today and saw that it was closed. I thought that you were sick, but you weren’t here either. I phoned your friends and they couldn’t get a hold of you,” he spoke quickly while drumming his fingers on the table. Baekhyun refrained from rolling his eyes.

One time he had forgotten to tell Junmyeon that he was going to Jongdae’s house after school. Junmyeon had waited at the bus stop for half an hour before going into hysterics and rounding up a search party of their older cousins.

“You know what they told me?” Junmyeon said with narrowed eyes.   
 “What great wisdom did they share with you?”  
 “They said that last night you went on a date and they hadn’t seen you since.”

Baekhyun nearly dropped the mug he was washing.   
_Dammit, Minseok_.   
He turned around, ready to argue.   
 “First of all, it wasn’t a date,” he said loudly. “Second, it didn’t happen because he never showed up.”

Junmyeon straightened up in his chair with a hard look on his face.   
 “Who is he? I’ll sort him out – “   
 “Hey, the grey hairs, remember?” Baekhyun interrupted quickly. “It was just a misunderstanding, so we met up today instead.”   
Junmyeon seemed to gather himself and slouched in his chair. Baekhyun handed him the mug of tea and briefly explained how he had met Chanyeol. Junmyeon listened intently.   
 “He’s polite and nice?”   
 “Yes,” Baekhyun sighed.   
 “He apologised for being late?”  
 “ _Yes_.”

Junmyeon sipped his tea. He was still frowning.  
 “What did you even do today?”   
 “Ate food and hung out at the game shop,” Baekhyun replied absent-mindedly while texting apologies to Minseok and Jongdae.   
 “My God, you spent an entire afternoon looking at video games? You’re really meant for each other,” Junmyeon said. Baekhyun scowled at him.   
 “We. Are. Just. Friends,” he said loudly.   
Junmyeon ignored him.   
 “What did you eat? Are you hungry now?”   
 “We ate breakfast at the Phoenix Hotel,” Baekhyun replied before he thought that he should perhaps keep Chanyeol’s identity a secret.

 “Are you serious? Who is he?” Junmyeon asked after nearly dropping his mug. His eyes narrowed in suspicion.   
 “Uh, I can’t remember his last name,” Baekhyun lied. At that moment his phone received a text. He swore and jumped from his chair as Junmyeon snatched it from the table.    
 “ _Chanyeolee_? Park Chanyeol?” he gasped.

Chanyeol had texted him a bunch of emojis with the phrase “ _See you soon ~ !_ ”   
Junmyeon held Baekhyun’s head in a headlock under his armpit while holding the phone at arm’s length and Baekhyun’s flailing was no match for his strength.  
 “Why are you like this?” Baekhyun shouted. He pushed himself away and snatched the phone back. Junmyeon turned to face him.   
 “Baekhyun, I don’t think you should be friends with him,” he said sternly.

All Baekhyun could do was stare at his cousin in disbelief.   
 “Why the hell not?” he demanded angrily. “You’ve also been on the ‘get-Baekhyun-to-go-outside’ train! Hell, you were even the driver!”   
 “I just don’t think you should,” he said and it made Baekhyun’s temper rise.   
 “I’m twenty years old, Junmyeon! I can do whatever I want!” he shouted hotly. “Stop treating me like a kid!”

Junmyeon raised an eyebrow at him. There was a look in his eye that infuriated Baekhyun. It was as if he knew things that Baekhyun couldn’t possibly begin to imagine and his knowledge therefore gave him a right to treat Baekhyun like a child.

 “I’m responsible for you,” he said calmly. Baekhyun folded his arms.   
 “You can’t stop me. You can’t force me to do anything.”   
Junmyeon sighed.   
 “No, I can’t,” he said as he stood up. “But at least pretend to consider my advice when I give it to you.”

He reached out his arm and pulled Baekhyun into a hug. At first he defiantly kept his arms crossed and tried to pull away from Junmyeon but he felt him press his face against his head and his anger dissipated. Junmyeon was just looking out for him, so he returned the hug.

After his father had died in a car accident when he was a toddler, his mother’s family had taken a large role in his upbringing. Junmyeon was only a year older than him, but he may as well be ten years older. Junmyeon’s father was like his own, and Baekhyun’s mother had basically replaced Junmyeon’s after her passing when he was eleven.

“I love you,” Junmyeon said softly.   
 “I know,” Baekhyun replied. “But don’t tell me what to do.” He pulled away and felt slightly regretful when he saw Junmyeon’s resigned frown.

But he shouldn’t feel guilty. He wasn’t acting bratty or immature. Junmyeon couldn’t even give him a solid reason for not seeing Chanyeol so his argument was invalid.

“Anyway, do you want to hang out?” Baekhyun said brightly in an attempt to change the gloomy expression on his cousin’s face. Junmyeon crossed his arms, a sign that he was not going to allow Baekhyun to change the subject so easily.   
 “Just be wary of him, okay?” he said and Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Park Group is more powerful than what you know.”   
 “The boy has a chauffeur and a hotel chain. Believe me, I think I know,” Baekhyun said. “Anyway, I doubt I’ll ever meet his family.”   
Junmyeon did not look convinced.


	4. Chapter Four

The remainder of the summer holidays forged a myriad of memories that Baekhyun would never forget. Through the haze of the stifling heat and the drone of cicadas Chanyeol stood out with a lopsided grin and his fiery hair.

Baekhyun could hardly wait for his shifts to end so he could climb into Chanyeol’s Mercedes and go on an adventure.  
Chanyeol took Baekhyun wherever their hearts desired. They would spend an entire evening in an arcade and then to a gourmet bakery where they were received with low bows and free desserts.

Other times they would go to Lotte World and enjoy a few of the rides before Baekhyun was either too scared or too nauseous to try any more. Baekhyun preferred to just relax on the Ferris wheel and talk with Chanyeol. Baekhyun had always been a night owl, but he never kept track of time with Chanyeol and would sometimes only return home in the early hours of the morning.

Every time Baekhyun brought up the ₩100000 Chanyeol would ignore him. The majority of the places he took Baekhyun to eat where owned by his father, so it was difficult for Baekhyun to insist on paying.

While Minseok and Jongdae had finally stopped teasing him, it was becoming difficult for Baekhyun to ignore the airy feeling he sometimes got around Chanyeol. Especially whenever he would stretch over him to open the car door. He knew how to open it perfectly well now, but it had become an unspoken ritual for the both of them and Baekhyun wasn’t really complaining.

Sometimes whenever Chanyeol introduced Baekhyun to new food would insist on feeding it to him. It often resulted in Baekhyun snorting with laughter out of embarrassment and amusement and he would get food all over his chin but he still felt the same type of flushed light-headedness as he did in the car.

When he was with Chanyeol he felt warm. It was similar to the feeling he got after finishing a steaming bowl of spicy soup.  
He would come to associate summer with Chanyeol for the rest of his life.

* * *

 

Now his holidays had come to an end and the new term at university had started. Baekhyun was still assigned a few shifts at the shop during his free time, much to his disdain.  
The heat hadn’t subsided, leaving Baekhyun slightly moody after a long day of lectures without Chanyeol to distract him. It had taken him a while to understand just how busy Baekhyun was.

 “I’m studying I.T.,” Baekhyun explained over the phone while sitting beside Jongdae in the computer labs. He had been there for three hours already working on an assignment. He heard Chanyeol make an indignant sound on the other side of the phone. Jongdae was absorbed in his work.

 “But it’s the first week! How much work could you possibly have?” he whined.  
 “Like I said, it’s I.T.,” Baekhyun said with a smile. “Surely you’ve to go back to work now or something?”  
Jongdae stopped typing, not even bothering to be subtle when he tilted his head to try and eavesdrop.

Baekhyun wasn’t entirely sure what Chanyeol’s work entailed. The way he explained it made it sound like he wasn’t entirely sure himself. Baekhyun assumed that because Chanyeol was still young he didn’t have that much responsibility but he was sure that he did more than just follow his father around all day.

 “Yeah, it’s nothing exciting,” Chanyeol said quickly. “Anyways, are you at least free this Friday?”  
 “Definitely,” Baekhyun said without hesitation, causing Jongdae to raise his eyebrows.  
 “This is due on Monday,” he said loudly and Baekhyun shushed him.  
 “What time?” he asked.  
 “It starts at seven, so I’ll pick you up at six-thirty,” Chanyeol said.  
 “Wait, what is it?” Baekhyun asked, trying to contain his eagerness.  
 “It’s a surprise.” He could practically hear Chanyeol grinning. “I have to go. Bye, Baekhyunie!”  
 “Bye, see you then!”

He was met with an annoying smirk on Jongdae’s face when he turned to him.  
 “What?” he asked.  
 “Baekhyunie?” he teased and tried to tickle Baekhyun’s side. He grabbed his hand and playfully kicked him under the table. They started wrestling in their chairs.  
 “Baekhyunie! Baekhyunie!” he cooed while trying to ruffle Baekhyun’s hair.  
A collective bout of shushing and glares from the other students in the lab quickly silenced them.

* * *

 

Baekhyun tapped his foot eagerly in his lecture on Friday afternoon, earning him an elbow to the ribs from Jongdae.  
 “I know you’re excited for your date, but this is important work,” he whispered when Baekhyun retaliated.  
 “It’s not a date!” he hissed under his breath. “Aren’t you and Minseok going to suck face tonight anyway?”  
Silent and blushing furiously, Jongdae returned to taking notes.

While Jongdae had to work hard and go the extra mile, Baekhyun was the type of student who did the bare minimum and still managed to get decent marks. He never brought anything to lectures and it resulted in him begging Jongdae for notes the week before the exam. He actually only went to lectures to avoid getting nagged by Minseok.

Minseok had been the top undergraduate student in the science faculty, and while he was very willing to help Baekhyun with his maths work, he was also extremely strict on him in terms of actually doing his work.

Despite getting through nearly two years of university doing the bare minimum, Baekhyun was being steadily threatened by his dismal performance in mathematics. He excelled in his other subjects, but he just scraped through maths and it brought down his average.

His tutor, a Chinese exchange student in the year above him, really tried to help Baekhyun as much as he could. But as he was rather absent-minded and had two other tutorial groups to manage, Yixing could not devote all of his time to helping Baekhyun.

He absent-mindedly chewed on the end of the pen he had stolen from Jongdae. He honestly wanted to drop out and be a professional gamer, but his mother and Junmyeon had heard none of it. At least if he had a degree in Computer Sciences he could go into game developing.  
He wished he was like Chanyeol. He could do whatever he wanted.  
_At least his family treated him like he was an adult._

At twenty-five minutes past six Baekhyun happily climbed into Chanyeol’s car. He was pleasantly surprised to see Sehun sitting in the passenger seat. But he was slightly dismayed to see them both wearing black polo necks underneath dark suits and looking as sharp as he did shabby. He was still wearing the sweatpants and t-shirt he had worn to his lecture.

 “Hey, you didn’t say there was a dress-code,” he said after greeting his friend.  
 “You look fine,” Chanyeol said with a shrug. Sehun turned around in his seat and shook his head but remained silent. Baekhyun felt slightly put-out until Chanyeol produced a ticket from his blazer pocket and handed it to him.

 “The Seoul Film Festival!” he exclaimed. He could hardly believe that he was holding a ticket to an exclusive film screening. Now he hardly cared if he was wearing his pyjamas: he was going to the most exclusive popular culture event of the year.  
 “I’ve been waiting for this for months,” Chanyeol said as his knees bounced in excitement. I’m mostly excited for that gangster film.” He tapped his forehead in an effort to remember it.  
 “ _New World_!” Baekhyun exclaimed. “How excited can you be if you don’t remember the name, though?”  
He laughed when Chanyeol poked him in the side and a poking war ensued.

“Hey, we’re here,” Sehun announced from the front. They were in Gangnam again in front of the convention centre that glistened golden in the glow of the lights. Baekhyun peered out the car window with his lips parted in awe. There were actual people, impeccably dressed people, and actual journalists with flashing cameras.   
_There was a_ _red carpet_.

The car stopped a little way from the entrance with the red carpet. Baekhyun waited for Chanyeol to open his door, but it was instead opened by a man in a suit. He was probably a valet or something. He regarded Baekhyun with a confused expression but Chanyeol nudged him to get out.

The air was warm and the bustle of the event added to the night time sounds of Gangnam. Baekhyun stood awkwardly between Chanyeol and Sehun as they gathered themselves and straightened their jackets. Sehun muttered a word to the driver and the car rolled away.  
 “Let’s go!” Chanyeol said eagerly.

As they approached the red carpet Baekhyun could hardly believe his eyes. This was the type of stuff he had only ever seen on TV. Attractive people smiling and posing while cameras constantly flashed like strobe lights.  


“Park Chanyeol!” a journalist cried over the din.  
“Oh Sehun!” another voice joined.

There was a scuffle and the cameras suddenly turned in their direction and Baekhyun was nearly blinded by how it reflected in his glasses lens. His primary instinct was to take a step back and possibly retreat off the carpet. But Chanyeol’s steady hand was suddenly on his back and he felt that he couldn’t be too overwhelmed with him there.

Chanyeol smiled placidly, a type of smile that did not reach his large eyes, and waved once at the press. Sehun wore a very model-like expression with his lips slightly pouted and his eyes focused ahead in a bored manner.

The journalists were shouting; some were greetings and some serious questions about Park Group that Baekhyun did not entirely understand. They did not stop to give an interview or anything and Baekhyun breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the end of the carpet and the stairs that led up to the building.  
 “That was intense,” he admitted as they entered and left the noise behind them.  
 “It’s annoying,” Sehun said. “Perhaps we’ll take the back exit.” Chanyeol nodded in agreement.

It was much more quiet and pleasant inside. But there were so many people that he was close to gripping onto Chanyeol’s arm so that he didn’t get lost. Baekhyun spotted a few waiters carrying trays with champagne and unnecessarily tiny appetisers.  
 “Is there food?” he asked hesitantly. He didn’t want to appear rude, but he was hungry. His friendship with Chanyeol was partially based on eating, anyway. But Chanyeol smiled at him with an arched brow.  
 “Do you really think I’d take you anywhere without feeding you?”  
Baekhyun beamed.

He followed Chanyeol and Sehun as they pushed through the throng of people to a set of stairs hidden in the corner of the foyer. He was aware that people hardly noticed him and he felt more at ease. The more anonymous he remained the better.

They entered what seemed to be a private lounge at the end of the corridor. It was dim inside with leather couches. Chanyeol threw himself onto one and sighed.  
 “I hate the press,” he said as he ran a hand through his unkempt hair. “Help yourself.” He gestured to a table that Baekhyun hadn’t noticed. Sehun was already eating some type of appetizer that Baekhyun didn’t recognise.

He was enjoying his fifth piece of fried chicken when a group of people entered the lounge and greeted Chanyeol. He heard Sehun exhale deeply beside him and he wondered if he disliked them. They appeared to be around their age and were also well-dressed. Chanyeol exchanged pleasantries with them and Baekhyun had just taken a large mouthful of his sixth piece of chicken when Chanyeol was suddenly gesturing to him.  
 “This is Byun Baekhyun,” he said.

Baekhyun froze when several pairs of eyes turned to stare at him. He noticed them taking in his appearance, from his tattered Vans to his glasses, and he gave a nervous wave.  
 “Hi,” he said through his mouthful of chicken. He realised that his hands were oily and quickly wiped them on his pants. They greeted him and he immediately forgot their names. Their faces, while good-looking, were rather generic too, so he hoped he would never have to meet them again and avoid any awkwardness.

He watched how they interacted with Chanyeol and it was obvious that he was somehow superior to them. He wondered if their parents worked for his father or something. His observations were interrupted when Chanyeol called him over to watch the first film screening.

Baekhyun spent the entire evening watching films and eating various appetisers with Chanyeol and Sehun. The latter was rather quiet in the presence of other people, but Baekhyun didn’t really pay them any attention as he was solely focused on the entertainment.

At the end of the night he trailed after Chanyeol and Sehun as they left the last theatre.  
 “That fight scene in the elevator was epic!” he exclaimed. “I wish I could get into a fight like that!”  
Chanyeol gave him a small smile over his shoulder as if he were amused by his awe.  
 “Let’s go through the back door,” Chanyeol said to Sehun.

Baekhyun was surprised at the seemingly never-ending corridors in the building and thought that they were lost for a moment until they went through a door and came out into the warm night air. They were in a dark parking lot behind the building. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were loudly recounting the best scenes from the films while walking to the car.

“Oi, Park,” a foreign voice interrupted their conversation.  
Chanyeol and Sehun froze. Baekhyun looked around and saw a man leaning against a car parked in the corner of the lot. The glow of his cigarette cast his face into sharp relief and he looked slightly eerie in the darkness.

Baekhyun was more surprised to see the sudden change that had come over Chanyeol’s face. It was hard-set in a stony expression. Sehun’s eyes were narrowed. Chanyeol straightened up to his full height and it was actually intimidating.

The man approached them. He walked with his hands in his pockets and Baekhyun saw that although he was wearing a suit he looked slightly shabby as he was unshaven and had a few buttons missing from his jacket.

“We didn’t see each other tonight,” he said with a thin smile. He left a few metres between himself and the trio, standing with his shoulders squared and his legs apart, and Baekhyun noticed that Chanyeol had moved to stand in front of him. Sehun’s hand was subtly holding the edge of his jacket. Baekhyun was bewildered at the sudden tension.

“These aren’t exactly business hours, Choi,” Chanyeol said. His voice was somehow deeper than usual.  
The man glanced to the side and made eye-contact with Baekhyun who had been peering out from behind Chanyeol’s arm. He suddenly felt very vulnerable and averted his gaze.  
 “I see,” he said with a raised eyebrow.  
 “I’m sorry to interrupt your busy schedule. However, my business has no weekends, so I thought it would be best to approach you myself.”  
 “I’ll say what I said last time, then,” Chanyeol said. “If it’s really so pressing, talk to my father instead of me. I’m in no position to make this deal.”

Baekhyun’s eyes darted from Sehun’s face to the stranger’s, as he could not see Chanyeol’s expression, but the other two were unreadable anyway. He was utterly lost.

 “Come on, Park,” he said with a type of grimacing smirk. “You’re a big boy now. Surely you don’t need to go through your father for everything?”  
Sehun edged his foot forward. It was just enough to show that he was ready to move if he needed to, although Baekhyun was unsure of as to why.  
 “It’s like he said. These aren’t business hours.” His voice was low and his face was grim. The man eyed his hand and then took a step back.

“This is the famous Pretty Boy?” he muttered more as an observation than as a question. His gaze alternated from Sehun’s hand to Chanyeol’s face before finally resting on Baekhyun. He looked away again. When the man looked at him he felt as though he were naked.

 “Hm, well I can take a hint. I hope to discuss this soon, though, or else I might change my mind.” Baekhyun couldn’t tell if that was a threat or not, but he was glad to see the man turn and walk back to his car. Chanyeol and Sehun remained rooted to their spots as they watched the car exit the parking lot. Only once it was gone did they continue the journey to their own car.

 “What was that all about?” Baekhyun asked as he climbed inside after Chanyeol.  
 “Just some work stuff,” Chanyeol said vaguely. Baekhyun frowned. He didn’t feel that he was allowed to pry into Chanyeol’s private affairs, so he kept quiet. But he could not contain all of his curiosity.  
 “That guy was pretty rude,” Baekhyun said.  
 “Forget about him,” Chanyeol said hastily while consulting his phone.  
 “I deal with a lot of people like him. Do you want to go to the after-party?”  
Baekhyun was taken aback by his abrupt suggestion. But he wasn’t tired and was still buzzing with the excitement from the films so he impulsively agreed to go.

The party was at an upmarket nightclub in the heart of Gangnam named _Exodus_. Baekhyun never thought that a nightclub would need to have so many floors. The bouncer took one look at Baekhyun’s attire and held up a hand to stop him from entering.

“He’s with me,” Chanyeol said. The bouncer seemed to recognise him and quickly stepped aside while mumbling apologies.  
 “That was cool,” Baekhyun could not help but say. Chanyeol smiled at him as if amused by his comment.  
 “But I’m not making you look bad or anything, right?” Baekhyun asked quickly.  
 “What? Of course not!” Chanyeol looked shocked that he would ever suggest such a thing.

The club was dimly lit with a sultry blue light and Baekhyun had to hold onto the back of Chanyeol’s jacket to see where they were going. Everything seemed to be made out of glass, from the table surfaces to the walls that designated different areas such as dance floors and bars. Baekhyun had never fathomed that there would be multiple bars.

Even the stairs connecting the floors were made of a transparent material. Baekhyun assumed that glass stairs would be a safety hazard but they looked very authentic. What really caught Baekhyun’s eye was that the glass structures appeared to be filled with water like large empty aquariums. Hell, even the glistening chandeliers that chinked slightly from the reverberating music gave the impression that they were underwater.

They sat down in a secluded booth on the third floor that overlooked the club through a massive round window. The seats were black leather, and it was a combination of the dim lighting and Baekhyun’s bad eyesight, but it appeared as though the seats were merely empty black holes waiting to suck in their occupants.

A well-dressed waiter appeared out of nowhere and greeted them with a low bow.  
 “Just some beers, thanks,” Chanyeol said with a nod. He vanished and reappeared quickly with the drinks.  
 “I don’t really drink,” Baekhyun admitted, watching Chanyeol and Sehun crack open their beers with some regret. “This is my first time in a club too.”

Chanyeol looked pleasantly surprised. Whenever Minseok and Jongdae forced Baekhyun to go out drinking with them they would go to the student pub near the campus. It was rather disgusting inside but students had very low standards when it came to nightlife.  


“Don’t do anything you don’t want to,” he said and Baekhyun smiled at his sincerity. He noticed that Sehun was rather quiet and looked surlier than usual.  
 “What’s up?” he asked him. He merely nodded in the direction behind Baekhyun.  
 “People,” he muttered.  
Suddenly Baekhyun heard approaching voices and turned around. In a small moment of panic he recognised the group of people from the festival.

“Glad to see you here!” the most good-looking of the group said as he sat down next to Chanyeol. He had bleached hair and impeccable bone structure. The others filed into the booth and Baekhyun had to scoot up close next to Sehun who sat with his arms crossed. A brunette girl sat very close to Baekhyun and he could smell the alcohol mingling with her strong perfume.

 “Sehun, I’m surprised they let you in here,” the girl said with a short laugh. Sehun was obviously not amused but Baekhyun was confused.  
 “Why wouldn’t you be let in?” he asked. Before Sehun could answer Chanyeol burst out laughing.  
 “Sehun’s underage,” he said with a teasing smile and poked him in the ribs.

Baekhyun could not help but gasp in shock.  
 “What! How old are you?”  
 “Eighteen,” he replied curtly. The girl snickered, as did some of the others. Baekhyun suddenly felt sorry for Sehun. He looked visibly annoyed and it was obvious that Chanyeol could not take a hint.  
 “You also look like a kid,” the man next to Chanyeol commented. “What was your name again?”  
 “Byun Baekhyun,” Baekhyun replied with a slight frown. There was the smallest hint of a condescending tone in his voice.  
 “And I turned twenty in May,” he added.  
 “How do you know Chanyeol?” the girl asked with an arched brow. Baekhyun felt like he was being interrogated by the police.  
 “We’re best friends,” Chanyeol said loudly, putting an end to the mutterings of the group. Baekhyun met Chanyeol’s eyes and grinned.

 “No one really looks their age,” Baekhyun said in an attempt to amuse Sehun. “My one friend is twenty-two but he looks like he escaped the local middle-school,” he said. Sehun gave him a small smile of appreciation.

Baekhyun was content to show Sehun some solidarity by sitting in silence, but he could not help but get involved in the conversation whenever Chanyeol spoke. His friends seemed surprised every time he spoke as if they were observing an alien.

When the majority was on their third drink they suddenly found Baekhyun very amusing. At first he thought that they were mocking him, but when he saw Chanyeol doubled over and wheezing at one his jokes he assumed that they also enjoyed his humour.

The girl next to him found him especially amusing and sometimes gripped onto his arm in a fit of laughter. He had nearly moved onto Sehun’s lap to get away from her when her blonde friend insisted on her accompanying her to the bathroom.

“Yuna always gets drunk so easily,” the man next to Chanyeol said with an eye-roll. Baekhyun was sure his name was Jun. Or Jin. He couldn’t remember.  
 “I didn’t think she’d be here,” Chanyeol said with a side glance at Jun or Jin. Baekhyun couldn’t read what the glance meant but he could tell that Chanyeol was somewhat displeased with the girl’s presence.

Jun or Jin lit a cigarette and offered his lighter to the table. To Baekhyun’s surprise, Sehun whipped out his own pack of cigarettes and joined the smokers. Only Chanyeol and Baekhyun weren’t partaking, but Chanyeol seemed unaffected by the thick cloud of smoke that enveloped them. The smell was rancid and Baekhyun was soon coughing.

“I’m going to get some fresh air,” he spluttered as he rose from the table.  
 “Don’t get lost. The balcony’s that way,” Chanyeol said with a gesture pointing past the bar.

Baekhyun was relieved to take a gulp of the fresh night air and to leave the pulsating music behind him. He stood leaning over the glass railing and looked down at the street below. He wondered if it was normal to spend an evening in a club just socialising and drinking. Perhaps this was the type of thing he should be doing.  


It seemed a bit boring, but he was well-entertained by Chanyeol. He knew that he hardly realised how fancy the club was, and he stared in wonder at the new patrons arriving below. They were older men with young women on their arms. He was interested in how they interacted with one another. Baekhyun was watching them as if watching a film when he suddenly felt a cold hand on his arm and he jumped.

The drunken brunette girl was standing next to him with a small smile. Baekhyun had already forgotten her name.  
 “Baekhyun, you’re really funny,” she said as she twirled a long strand of hair around her finger. Her words were slightly slurred.  
 “Thanks,” he said, averting his gaze back to the interesting scene below. The most distinguished-looking man was currently arguing with someone who looked like the club manager. His girlfriend held onto his arm possessively. He wore lots of gold jewellery.

“You know, I think you’re really attractive too,” the girl said in a low voice in his ear.  
 “Thanks,” Baekhyun said absently. The manager was now joined by two massive men. They were probably there to intimidate the men who were being refused entry for some reason. Baekhyun wondered if Chanyeol’s family owned the club too.

His musings were interrupted when the girl snaked an arm around his neck and her cold fingers pulled his face towards her.  
 “What are you doing?” he gasped.  
 “Kiss me,” she murmured and she pressed herself against him.  
 “I don’t even know your name!” Baekhyun shrieked before her lips could touch him. He pushed her away and she stumbled in her heels and nearly fell over. She gaped at him in shock.

 “How dare you!” she exclaimed. “Do you have any idea who I am?”  
 “I literally just said I don’t know you,” he said wearily.  
She looked as though she was about to throw herself at him and Baekhyun was ready to push her away again but her blonde friend suddenly emerged from nowhere.  
 “Yuna! You’re really drunk,” she said to her friend. She barely noticed Baekhyun and the two started arguing about leaving. Suddenly the girl named Yuna started to cry and Baekhyun took it as his cue to leave.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Sehun commented when Baekhyun re-joined their table.  
 “It was worse,” he muttered. Chanyeol leaned forward to listen but at that moment his friend, Jun or Jin, nudged him and pointed in the direction behind Baekhyun. With a heavy feeling in his gut he turned and saw the two girls emerging from the direction he had come from, the brunette one sobbed while her friend practically dragged her to the stairs.  
 “That’s how all of her nights end,” one of the other men commented. They resumed their conversation, but Jun or Jin’s eyes narrowed suspiciously at Baekhyun. He forced himself to talk to Sehun to divert from any thoughts of the girl.

It was late and Baekhyun was bored of the club. He didn’t realise how tired he was until his head collided with Sehun’s shoulder.  
 “I think we should get going,” Chanyeol said with a yawn. “I’ll see you, Junho,” he said to his friend. He waved goodbye to the others and rose from the table.

Baekhyun was eager to get out of the club and he gave everyone a curt goodbye before hurrying after Chanyeol.  
 “Did Yuna bother you or something, Baekhyun?”  
Chanyeol’s question was so sudden that Baekhyun nearly fell off his seat in the car.  
 “She’s the brunette one, right?” he asked. Chanyeol nodded. He looked somewhat grave.  
 “She tried to kiss me,” he said with a grimace. Chanyeol sat up in his chair.  
 “But I pushed her away and she got really offended. Did I do something wrong?”  
Chanyeol’s expression was unreadable as he momentarily gazed out the window.  
 “No, no you didn’t,” he said. He hesitated. “She’s my ex.”  
 Baekhyun felt his heart in his throat.  
 “Chanyeol – “  
He placed a hand on Baekhyun’s knee and gave him a kind smile.  
 “Don’t worry about it. She cheated, and it was a while ago, but I’m still kind of hurt, you know,” he said with a sigh.

Baekhyun suddenly felt a wave of dislike directed at Yuna. She was a piece of trash for hurting Chanyeol. Now he was certainly not sorry for pushing her. Also, she had forced herself on him, so she deserved it even more. Baekhyun gave Chanyeol’s hand a gentle squeeze and he smiled at him in appreciation. 

“Sehun never liked her. I should have listened to him.”  
Sehun grunted in reply from the passenger seat.  
 “I don’t like any of them, to be honest,” he said quietly. Chanyeol shrugged. Baekhyun guessed that Chanyeol had to put up with the group out of courtesy or due to his work. Their parents probably worked with his father.

Baekhyun lay awake in bed thinking about the night’s events. He was conflicted: on the one hand, he wanted to get along with Chanyeol’s friends, especially since he was invited to future social events with them.

On the other hand, he didn’t really like them that much, and Sehun seemed to be a good judge of character.  
But then again, Sehun hadn’t seemed to liked him at first, while Chanyeol had been more than happy with him, so whose judgement should he follow?

He tossed over in the bed and stared at the Rilakkuma piggy bank on his bedside table. Chanyeol meant so much to him that he couldn’t possibly go wrong with his judgment.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OCs aren't based on real people they're just the first names that came to mind. Also I really liked New World if that's not obvious because that elevator fight scene was epic.   
> Thank you to everyone who has left comments and kudos so far! It really means a lot to me :)


	5. Chapter Five

The last remnants of summer quickly dissolved into autumn and Baekhyun was up to his ears in juggling schoolwork and socialising with Chanyeol. He was now no longer surprised at the lavishness of the events he went to, but that didn’t stop him from wearing his usual sweatpants and t-shirt ensemble. He had finally memorised the names and faces of Chanyeol’s social circle, and despite his better judgement, he was pleased to see that they found him extremely entertaining.

He was skilled in reading the mood of the group and could easily adapt to the conversation when Chanyeol was there to boost his confidence.  
Junho would often cross the room in search of Baekhyun to show off his humour to a group of people. At first Baekhyun was slightly flustered from all the attention but when he saw how much amusement it also gave Chanyeol he started to relish in it. He would constantly stay by Chanyeol’s side and he thought they made a great pair. But he was leaning towards prioritising Chanyeol over his academics.

* * *

 

Baekhyun was sitting in the computer labs checking the online results of his latest maths test. His heart sank when he saw that he had failed dismally.   
 “Shit, Baekhyun, you’ve got to pull yourself towards yourself,” Jongdae said from behind him.   
 “Hey, who said you could look?” he retorted as he shielded the screen with his hands. But the damage was already done, as Minseok also stood behind him with crossed arms.   
 “Is that from test seven?” he said as he brushed Baekhyun’s hands aside. His eyes narrowed at the screen. “I stayed up with you all night to revise and you seemed to get the hang of it. Did you practice?”   
Baekhyun looked down at the keyboard sheepishly. He could feel Minseok’s glare on his face.

 “Are you telling me that you did fuck all the day before the test?”   
 “I was out –“   
 “With Park Chanyeol?” Minseok interjected. He reminded Baekhyun strongly of Junmyeon and it only worsened his mood. When either of them started to swear then he knew that they were angry.   
 “You know I still owe him ₩100000 so I can’t exactly refuse him –“  
 “Baekhyun, don’t make excuses,” Minseok said hotly. “He’s never going to take the money and you know it.”

Baekhyun felt his temper rising. He turned fully in his chair to face Minseok. Jongdae stood to the side looking extremely nervous.   
 “Alright, so arrest me if I enjoy hanging out with him,” Baekhyun said. “It’s just one test.”   
 “You’ve just scraped through every other test, and now you barely managed a twenty,” Minseok said. His hands were on his hips. Baekhyun’s ears flushed in embarrassment. He was announcing his marks to the entire lab.

Jongdae was chewing on his bottom lip but he did nothing to stop his boyfriend and Baekhyun knew it was because he agreed with him.   
 “Listen, Minseok,” Baekhyun said. “I appreciate your help and concern, but you’re not my tutor or my mother, so don’t get so worked up over my marks.”

Minseok’s frown deepened and his eyes darkened.   
 “I wonder if you’ll say the same to your uncle,” he said. “After all, he’s the one paying for your tuition.”   
Baekhyun jumped up without realising it. His fists were clenched at his sides. Minseok had crossed the line and he knew it. He knew how to get Baekhyun to react to something. Despite being shorter than Baekhyun he certainly wasn’t intimidated by his radiating anger.

“Mind your own business,” he said through clenched teeth. It was one thing to be a concerned friend, but it was totally out of line to bring his family into it. Minseok and Junmyeon were friends, so he knew quite a bit about his family, but Minseok had gone too far. He didn’t look the slightest bit sorry and it angered Baekhyun even more. Without even logging out of the computer he swung his bag over his shoulder and pushed past his friends to storm out the lab.

The sunlight was bright and it annoyed him even more as he had to squint to see where he was storming off to. He swiftly left campus and was soon locked in his flat playing League of Legends.

Minseok should really know the boundaries of their friendship. Baekhyun had every right to me mad at him.   
 “Dammit,” he muttered as he watched his character’s party die in a battle. He pushed the keyboard and mouse away and slumped in his chair with crossed arms. He bounced his legs in agitation. He felt slightly guilty for being so rude to his friends, but really, they had gone out of line by getting so involved in his marks.

He picked up his phone and automatically phoned Chanyeol.   
 “Baekhyunie!”   
His greeting was so enthusiastic that Baekhyun smiled, momentarily forgetting his annoyance.   
 “What’s up?”

Baekhyun hesitated for a moment. While he felt close with Chanyeol, he had not yet poured out his feelings and troubles to him. But Chanyeol was so compassionate and kind and he had no one else to go to at that moment.

“Baekhyun?”   
 “I just…I need to talk to someone who isn’t on my case,” he said quietly.   
 “Are you at your flat?”   
 “Yeah – “   
“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” Chanyeol said before cutting the call. Baekhyun was taken aback and stared at his blank phone screen.

Soon enough he heard the familiar sound of Chanyeol’s car pulling up outside the shop and he rushed down the stairs to the shop to greet him. He was wearing his Adidas tracksuit and a bucket hat.   
 “Hey, what’s up?” he said as he entered the shop. He surprised Baekhyun with a tight hug, basically smashing his face into his chest, and he felt all the more better at having phoned Chanyeol. He greeted the shop owner and she gave him a small glare. Nothing unusual there.

 “Ugh, a lot,” Baekhyun said as he led Chanyeol up the stairs. “Sorry for the mess.” His bed was still unmade and there was a pile of dirty dishes at his desk.   
 “It doesn’t bother me,” Chanyeol said with a smile.   
 “So who’s on your case? Anyone I need to sort out?”   
Baekhyun was reminded of Junmyeon’s overprotectiveness and his heart felt heavy.   
 “My maths marks are, well, shitty,” he said as they both sat down at the table. He pushed a packet of biscuits towards Chanyeol.   
 “And my friends are concerned, but they’re just a bit too involved, you know?” Chanyeol looked a bit confused, so Baekhyun explained the entire situation to him. However he omitted the parts where their friendship and socialising seemed to have a direct impact on his marks.

Chanyeol stared at the ceiling thoughtfully.   
 “I think you’re really lucky,” he said after a while. Baekhyun nearly choked on the biscuit he had been eating. Chanyeol smiled at him, and it was a smile that made Baekhyun slightly sad for a reason he could not discern.   
 “Lucky? Everyone’s up my ass,” he muttered sullenly.   
 “They just love you,” Chanyeol said. “If they didn’t love you then they wouldn’t bother.”

Baekhyun bit his bottom lip.   
He knew that Chanyeol was right, but he wanted him to take his side and join him in complaining about the injustice of it all. He didn’t want to take the blame for his poor decisions. Chanyeol’s voice was so soothing though, so it helped him clear his head of his emotions.

 “I know,” he said softly. “But it just makes me feel bad.”   
 “You don’t want to disappoint them, right?” Chanyeol asked. Baekhyun nodded.   
 “Look, today’s Monday. You have the whole week to redeem yourself,” Chanyeol said. “I’m not sure how university works, but I’m sure you can meet with your professors and do some solid work before the weekend.”

Baekhyun smirked. He knew where this was going.   
 “What about working on the weekend?” he asked. Chanyeol smiled wryly.   
 “Well, on Friday I’m throwing a party, so you should get all your work done before then,” he said in his businessman tone. He put a whole biscuit in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.   
 “It’s a bit formal though, and I don’t mind how you dress, but you might have to dress fancy because my friends are snobs.”   
 “Is it at your house?” Baekhyun could barely contain his excitement.   
 “Not my father’s house. My penthouse,” Chanyeol said through a mouthful of biscuit. “Should we go to the tailor today to get it out of the way?”   
 “Yeah!” Baekhyun jumped from his chair. He was eager to be distracted from his problems.   
 “What’s the occasion?”  
 “End of summer party,” Chanyeol replied as he brushed his hands on his pants. “We always have seasonal parties.”

Baekhyun thought it sounded a bit unnecessary but that made it all the more exciting. He noticed that Chanyeol had a few biscuit crumbs on the corner of his mouth.   
 “Chanyeol,” he said. He looked down at Baekhyun and he hesitated for a moment before he reached up and brushed his bottom lip with his thumb.

Chanyeol immediately pulled off his hat and hid his face behind it but he could not hide the tomato-red tips of his ears.   
“That’s so embarrassing,” he whined. Baekhyun laughed heartily at his embarrassment, it was adorable despite the odd fluttering feeling he felt in his gut, but then he noticed that his hair was no longer bright red. He had dyed it back to his natural black.   
 “Nice hair! Now we match!” Baekhyun said with a grin as they left the flat together.

After returning from the tailor’s with the fanciest suit Baekhyun had ever owned and enough fried chicken to last the week, he felt a new sense of motivation for the rest of the week.   
 “Don’t speak to me until Friday!” Chanyeol had said with a mockingly serious tone.

After Chanyeol had left, Baekhyun immediately phoned Minseok and Jongdae to invite them over for dinner.   
 “I’m really sorry for being an ass,” Baekhyun said at the table. Jongdae was happily eating the chicken while Minseok regarded it with some suspicion.   
 “As long as you recognise the problem you can overcome it,” he said.   
 “By the way, where did you get all this chicken?”   
 “My emotions make me hungry,” Baekhyun lied to his plate. He could never lie directly to his friends. “Anyway, I’ll work harder for this week’s test!” Minseok smiled proudly at him before finally giving in to the chicken.

* * *

 

Baekhyun didn’t remember ever having worked so hard in his life before. He spent every spare hour either at the library or in the labs working on various assignments or practising his maths with Minseok. At the most he only got five hours of sleep but he told himself that he could sleep on the weekend.

The most pressing thing besides his maths test was a group assignment that he and Jongdae were in the same group for. It counted heavily and he was very eager to do well in it. When it was finally time to write the dreaded maths test he walked out of the venue with a proud grin. He knew that he had gotten way over the pass mark and he was eager to get his results the following week.

On Friday night he was attempting to style his hair the way that Minseok had done it. He succeeded in making it slightly wavy, but it was much messier than his friend’s carefully sculpted curls. He wet his hands and bunched up the waves before he was finally satisfied with the look. Normally he would have asked Minseok for help but both he and Jongdae were under the impression that he would spend his Friday night at home studying. He felt a bit like a teenager sneaking out but he deserved to go the party after working so hard. And he was an adult anyway.

His suit was black with an open white shirt. He was glad that he didn’t have to wear a tie. He was most fascinated with his shoes though. They were Italian and Chanyeol had insisted on buying them despite his protests.   
 “They’re an investment. You can wear them at your wedding,” he had said nonchalantly in the shop.

Baekhyun admired himself in the mirror for a while, pulling a number of faces and flexing his arms until he heard a car hooting outside the shop. He pocketed his phone and practically ran outside.

“Baekhyun! You look really handsome!” Chanyeol said with a slightly gobsmacked expression. Baekhyun forced down his blush as he climbed into the car.   
 “Don’t look so surprised,” he said with a smile.   
 “I would say the same, but you always look handsome.”   
He could have sworn he heard Sehun scoff but Chanyeol kicked his seat. He thought that Chanyeol looked more handsome than usual, as his hair was styled neatly and he wore gold jewellery.

“Roll up your sleeves so you don’t look too fancy,” he said as he leaned over and took Baekhyun’s arm in his hands. He carefully rolled up the sleeves of the jacket and shirt so that he looked a bit like a celebrity. He was now artfully untidy.   
 “You have pretty hands,” Chanyeol said.   
 “Thanks, it’s from years of gaming,” Baekhyun said. Never before had he felt so proud of his slender hands. Now he was sure he heard Sehun muffle a laugh or some sort of sound and he couldn’t figure out why.

They travelled to a part of Gangnam that was the most affluent neighbourhood he had ever seen. When they stopped outside an apartment building Baekhyun was unsurprised to see that it sported a fountain at the entrance. He walked in between Chanyeol and Sehun as they entered and he felt as if he were in a music video. It was grander than the Phoenix Hotel and it was obvious that only the very powerful and wealthy lived there.

Baekhyun was bouncing on his feet in the elevator and it amused Chanyeol.   
 “I’m glad you’re excited, there’s lots of food,” he said.   
 “Chanyeol, you really speak my language.”

The elevator opened to the penthouse floor and Baekhyun was shocked to see how big it was. Chanyeol gave him a brief tour while Sehun trailed behind them, absorbed in his phone. The kitchen and living room were modest for a luxury apartment. The outside terrace was the largest part of the penthouse. There were only two bedrooms, both with en suite bathrooms.

The second bedroom was sparsely decorated and littered with some of Sehun’s possessions and clothes as he often stayed over for the weekend. The master bedroom was obviously Chanyeol’s judging by all of the figurines and posters.   
 “You have the Elder Scrolls box-set!” Baekhyun exclaimed when he saw the box on the desk beside the computer. He gasped when he saw the dragon figurine beside the monitor.   
 “The limited edition Alduin figure!”

Chanyeol smiled somewhat shyly.   
 “I have a cabinet for my figures but I’m running out of space,” he admitted.   
“I have nearly every One Piece character.”   
Baekhyun was slightly emotional at relating to Chanyeol on such a level that he turned and hugged him tightly.   
Chanyeol seemed surprised but quickly put his arms around Baekhyun and giggled. His cologne was pleasantly subtle with the smallest hint of spice and Baekhyun relished in it.  
 “Junho is here,” Sehun announced with a hint of amusement in his voice. Baekhyun reluctantly pulled away and followed Chanyeol back to the entranceway.

Junho arrived with his usual entourage and greeted Baekhyun enthusiastically. In no time there was music blasting from the living room and food had appeared from out of nowhere. There was more alcohol than what Baekhyun had ever seen at a student party. But he was more preoccupied with his third sushi platter.

“How do you find Chanyeol’s penthouse? It’s an upgrade from last year’s one,” Junho said casually. They were standing outside on the sprawling terrace that overlooked the city. Baekhyun was slightly nervous at being so high up so he avoided the balcony railing and stood near the sliding door. Chanyeol was busy being a good host and he felt that he could not follow him around all night, so he was standing with Junho’s group and Sehun.

“Last year? You mean he lived somewhere else before?” Baekhyun asked.   
 “Obviously,” Junho said. He eyed the sushi in Baekhyun’s hands.   
 “That’s some of the best salmon in Seoul, you know.”   
Baekhyun shrugged as he didn’t really know what an appropriate response would be.   
 “It tastes the same as the two-for-one place near my house,” he said through a mouthful of sushi. Sehun laughed briefly. Junho turned to the younger boy.   
 “How’s it going your side, Sehun?” he asked. “Still the lackey? Or is the correct term ‘right-hand man’?”   
Baekhyun felt Sehun stiffen beside him. He didn’t know what Junho’s question meant.   
 “Yes,” he replied curtly.   
 “Well, you _are_ the famous Pretty Boy,” Junho’s friend Doyoung said. “Your looks are deceiving in more ways than just your age.”

Baekhyun was watching Sehun’s face, his half-eaten sushi now completely forgotten. He wore his usual mask of disdain but his eyes were narrowed dangerously.   
 “Well, you wouldn’t know, Doyoung,” Sehun said with darkened eyes.   
 “I hear you’re still working for uncle as a delivery boy?”   
Doyoung’s face flushed and Baekhyun was growing more confused by the second. Junho noticed his bewildered expression. The corner of his mouth turned up in a humourless smirk.

“Baekhyun, what did you say your family did?” he asked. Baekhyun was slightly surprised.   
 “My uncle owns a few shops and my mom’s a secretary,” he said. He felt slightly uncomfortable as Junho’s friends turned their eyes on him as if scrutinising him.   
 “And your father?” Junho asked.   
 “He’s dead,” Baekhyun said.   
Junho’s expression softened slightly but Baekhyun was unsure of how genuine it really was.   
 “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” he said. Baekhyun nodded in acknowledgement. He had never had a serious conversation with the group before and it was slightly uncomfortable.

At that moment Chanyeol appeared with a broad grin.   
 “Guys, there’s more soju!” he announced.   
v“Baekhyun, you have to try this.” Before Baekhyun could protest, Chanyeol was dragging him inside past throngs of people to the living room.   
 “You _have_ to have one shot!” he said loudly over the music.   
 “This is the best soju I’ve ever had!”

Baekhyun was in a good mood, despite the weirdness with Junho and Doyoung, so he thought that he could handle a single shot of soju. He had eaten plenty of food so it shouldn’t go to his head too quickly. He allowed Chanyeol to pour him a small amount. He threw it back and immediately regretted it.

“It’s disgusting!” he spluttered. Chanyeol laughed at him but patted his back to make sure he was alright. He noticed that Chanyeol was more boisterous and louder than usual and he assumed that it was from alcohol.

He allowed Chanyeol to drag him around to various groups of people and Baekhyun was genuinely amused by his infectious good mood. He and Chanyeol quickly became a mischievous pair of partiers running around and urging people to drink and play drinking games. Junho and his group encouraged the two and it only escalated their behaviour.

Baekhyun never thought that he would find himself standing on a chair screaming himself hoarse in an effort to get a complete stranger to down electric pink shots from a pool table.  

He had discovered non-repulsive alcohol in the form of colourful cocktails. The bartender that Chanyeol had hired was skilled in making aesthetically pleasing drinks that tasted more like sugar than tequila and vodka.

Baekhyun was pleasantly buzzed as he was cautious enough to eat with his cocktails and space them apart. But the food had run out some time ago and he was craving something sweet.

 “Hey, gimme some of that,” he said loudly as he took Sehun’s colourful drink out of his hand.   
 “Baekhyun, I don’t think – “   
 “You’re not even old enough for this,” he interjected before he downed the glass. It burnt his throat the same way the soju had and he spat half of it out on the floor.

Chanyeol fell over from laughing at Baekhyun’s disgusted expression.   
 “Ugh, gimme something to get rid of the taste,” he said urgently. Chanyeol scrambled up and returned quickly with another drink.   
 “I think it’s ice tea mixed with something else,” he said. Baekhyun didn’t care what it was mixed with, as long as it took the taste out of his mouth. He drained the glass and ignored Sehun’s alarmed stare.

Suddenly a new song blasted from the speakers. It was the latest song from a popular girl group and Baekhyun dragged Chanyeol into the living room where it was loudest.

 “I love this song!” he bellowed over the bass as he danced. Chanyeol, with his long limbs and permanent slouch, proved to be an incredibly awkward dancer. Baekhyun laughed so hard that he nearly fell over. Chanyeol held him steady by the hands and they danced together in a clumsy uncoordinated shuffle. Baekhyun laughed so much that he thought his cheeks would split. He put his hands around Chanyeol’s neck in an attempt to make him dance to the rhythm of the music but he ended up smashing his forehead into Chanyeol’s chin.

He laughed it off despite Chanyeol’s brief look of concern. Suddenly in the corner of Baekhyun’s eye someone collapsed face-down on the floor.   
 “Hey! I’m not the first one dead! For once in my life!” Baekhyun yelled triumphantly over the music. He started making unnecessary noise, much to Chanyeol’s amusement and bewilderment.

 “Baekhyun, maybe you should sit down for a while,” Chanyeol said while attempting to pull Baekhyun off the table on the terrace.   
 “What floor is this, Chanyeol?” he shouted, completely ignoring Chanyeol’s attempts to grab his hands. He was dancing vigorously despite how the table wobbled beneath him.   
 “The thirtieth floor,” Chanyeol replied. “How many drinks have you had?”   
 “The thirtieth floor!” Baekhyun yelled. He cupped his hands to his mouth.   
 “THE THIRTIETH FLOOR! GOOD EVENING, SEOUL!”

Suddenly he remembered just how high thirty floors was and how he could easily topple off the table and over the balcony, despite the fact that he was a good ten metres away from the railing. His drunken bravery quickly dissipated and his fear of heights overcame him.  
 “Chanyeol!” he cried in alarm. He stopped dancing and in his hurry to get off the table he slipped and crashed to the floor.

* * *

 

The bass of distant music beat in time with the dull throbbing in Baekhyun’s head. He felt warm and he could feel that he was lying on his stomach. He tried to open his eyes but they felt incredibly heavy. He wondered where he was and why he was not still dancing.

He turned over and peered through one eye-lid. A large tapestry of the Straw Hat Pirates grinned down at him. He forced himself to sit up and slowly opened his eyes to see Chanyeol’s dark bedroom. How on earth did he get there? Where was his jacket and shoes?

“Chanyeol?” he croaked. His voice was hoarse. He noticed a bottle of water on the bedside table and took a generous gulp. He desperately wanted to find Chanyeol and return to the party.   
_The party is so much fun and dancing is so much fun._

He climbed out the bed but his limbs were heavy and slow so he nearly fell over. He gripped onto the wall for support and made his way to the door. He wrenched it open and the sheer volume of the music nearly knocked him over.

 “Chanyeol!” he shouted.   
 “Oh my God,” a voice said from the dark corridor. Baekhyun suddenly realised that he didn’t have his glasses as he could not see who had spoken. They were merely a shadowy figure.  
 “Have you seen Chanyeol?” he asked. His words were incredibly slow and slurred. His eye-lids kept drooping but he was determined to find Chanyeol.

 “Baekhyun?” Sehun’s voice said from the other side of the passage. Baekhyun noticed the other person hurrying away, but he neither knew nor cared what that meant.   
 “Sehun?” he murmured. “Where’s Chanyeol? I wanna dance.”   
He could just make out Sehun’s face as he approached.   
 “I’ll bring him now, just go back into the room,” he said in a calm voice. Baekhyun stamped his foot impatiently.   
 “But I wanna dance now,” he said in a half-hearted whine. He briefly closed his eyes and slumped against the doorframe. He heard Sehun curse before dashing off.

His knees were incredibly weak and his body felt so heavy and he slid down onto the carpet. He heard approaching footsteps and a strong pair of hands lifted him up.   
 “Chanyeol?” he murmured.   
 “I’m here,” answered the familiar deep voice.

Baekhyun felt himself smile. He really could not open his eyes. Chanyeol helped him walk back into the room with a strong arm around his waist. Chanyeol sat him down on the bed and he was able to force his eyes open. He looked more sober now and his eyes were scanning Baekhyun’s face.

 “Let’s dance,” Baekhyun said despite how he was losing feeling in his legs.   
 “We can dance when you’ve sobered up,” Chanyeol said with a small grin. “Remind me to never give you booze ever again.” Chanyeol held the water bottle to his lips and he took a gulp.   
 “Does your head hurt?”   
Baekhyun shrugged as he couldn’t really feel most of his body.

Baekhyun slowly realised that it was Chanyeol who had carried him to his own room and removed his jacket and shoes and put him to bed. Baekhyun stared at Chanyeol as he moved about the room to make it tidier. He saw his jacket hanging neatly on a hanger above his shoes. He felt his emotions building up in his chest.  
 “Chanyeol,” he said slowly. “You…you really care about me.”

Chanyeol paused in fluffing up the pillows on the bed.   
 “Of course I do,” he said matter-of-factly. He was very focused on the pillows now. “Of course I care about you.” He was plumping them as if he were tenderising meat.

Baekhyun stared at his face. He had always appreciated his good-looks but he was especially interested in them now. From his wide almond-shaped eyes to his large ears to his full lips set in a determined pout as he successfully restructured the shape of the pillows. Baekhyun was especially interested in his bottom lip.

 “Chanyeol,” he murmured as he pulled himself to his feet by gripping onto the front of Chanyeol’s shirt.   
 “Baekhyun – ?“   
 “I want to kiss you.” 

In his drunken clumsiness Baekhyun pulled Chanyeol towards him and their lips and noses crashed together.   
It was a brief moment, and Baekhyun marvelled at how soft Chanyeol’s lips were, until he gently placed his hands over Baekhyun’s and turned his face away. He was too slow to realise what was happening.

“Baekhyun, you’re drunk,” Chanyeol said softly with his eyes on the floor. He held Baekhyun’s hands tightly. Baekhyun frowned. He wanted to argue, but his words were slow in reaching his mouth. Especially since he was trying to savour the feeling of Chanyeol’s lips on his own.   
 “You should go to sleep,” he said as he released Baekhyun’s hands.

Baekhyun did feel incredibly tired, but he was preparing to argue why he should still be kissing Chanyeol as the man gently pushed him onto the bed.   
 “But, I really like you,” he said slowly. He had fallen back against the pillows without realising it. Chanyeol pulled the duvet over him and moved away from the bed.   
 “Chanyeol, I really, really like you,” he whispered incoherently as his eyes closed.

* * *

 

The pain in Baekhyun’s body was excruciating to say the least. Once again he could make out that he was lying on his front.   
Good God his headache was awful.   
He forced open his eyes and managed to see the one side of Chanyeol’s bedroom. Somehow his hangover made his eyesight even worse. He gingerly sat up and immediately regretted it as a bout of nausea overcame him.

He held his hand to his mouth and scrambled out the bed and in the direction of the bathroom. He made it just in time to vomit into the toilet.    
The taste of the previous night’s cocktails haunted him and made him retch even more. Then the sushi came up and he gripped the edge of the bowl with trembling hands.   
When he was done he shakily wiped his mouth and lay down on his front. The cool tiles felt pleasant against his throbbing head and he felt his eyes closing again.

“Baekhyun!”   
Strong hands shook him and his nausea threatened to make a comeback. Baekhyun groaned and turned over to see Chanyeol kneeling next to him on the bathroom floor.   
 “Kill me, please,” he muttered as he propped himself on his elbows. Chanyeol looked him over anxiously.   
 “Are you okay? I just woke up and you weren’t in the bed…” he said before trailing off. Baekhyun blinked in the unpleasant brightness of the bathroom.

“What time is it?” he asked.   
 “It’s just past one,” Chanyeol said. It took a while for Baekhyun to register what he said.   
 “One…in the afternoon?”   
 “You slept for about ten hours,” Chanyeol said. “I should get you some water.”   
 “I’m fine –“  
Baekhyun threw himself back at the toilet. He felt Chanyeol’s steady hand gripping his shoulder. When he sat back Chanyeol offered him tissues and a bottle of water.   
 “Take a shower, then you can eat and take some painkillers,” he said gently. All Baekhyun could do was nod in agreement. He had no strength to apologise.

He was eager to strip off his shirt and trousers and stood in the shower leaning against the tiled wall for a while. He vaguely marvelled at how spacious the shower was. He was sure that Chanyeol would not object to him using his products, but he still opted for the ones that seemed to be less frequently used.

He emerged from the shower smelling like vanilla and was surprised to see a neatly folded pair of clothes on the edge of the bath tub. Chanyeol must have quickly slipped them in. Baekhyun had to roll up the waistband and legs of the sweatpants in order for them to fit and the t-shirt was close to his knees and the sleeves came past his elbows. When he looked in the mirror he grimaced. The large purple bruise on his forehead made him very pasty in complexion.

When he entered the bedroom he noticed the pile of pillows and blankets on the sofa and he realised that Chanyeol had slept there last night.   
He remembered with startling clarity what had happened in his inebriated state. He was slightly mortified but he wouldn’t back down from what he had said. Just looking at the sofa reaffirmed his feelings about Chanyeol.

 “Chanyeol,” he said as he approached him while he made the bed. It took a lot of effort to not stutter. “I kissed you last night.”

He dropped the duvet but he nodded in agreement.   
 “You were very drunk,” he said with a shrug. Baekhyun noticed how his eyes were avoiding him. He tried to ignore his headache and recover some shred of bravery that only seemed to appear when he was drunk.

“I’m sorry for, er, behaving like that. But I meant it. And when I said I like you. I meant that too,” he said quickly.   
Now Chanyeol looked up at him. He looked hesitant, almost as if he was waiting for Baekhyun to burst out laughing and say that it was all a joke. The air was tense.

“I – I like you too,” Chanyeol stuttered in a small voice. “I like-like you.”   
Baekhyun grinned widely with a familiar fluttering sensation in his gut.   
 “Me too. Well, I just said that, but it sounds cuter when you say _like-like_ so I’ll say _like-like_ , and I think I’m just rambling now because I’m nervous – “

“Can I kiss you now that you’re sober?” Chanyeol said quickly.   
Baekhyun felt much shyer than what he had last night. Last night he had been too drunk to feel his heart pounding against his ribcage or his clammy palms.   
 “I haven’t rinsed my mouth, so I probably taste like vomit,” he said.

Then he realised that he had probably just killed any chance of ever getting a kiss from Chanyeol with that statement.   
But he burst out laughing and instead pulled Baekhyun into a bone-crushing hug. They stood holding each other for a while and Baekhyun felt utterly content with the world and even forgot his raging hangover. He appreciated the hug more than the previous night’s sloppy attempt at a kiss. Chanyeol was so warm and he could not help but smile into his chest.

“Chanyeol – _oh my God_.”   
Baekhyun and Chanyeol sprung apart when Sehun spoke from the doorway. His mouth was agape and his eyes were wide. He glanced from the unmade bed to the oversized clothes on Baekhyun and then raised his eyebrows.

“I’m glad to see that you’re alive, Baekhyun,” he said. He was obviously trying to withhold a smirk. Baekhyun avoided his eyes and stared firmly at his feet. He could feel the heat in his face.  
 “Is that why you’re here?” Chanyeol asked with a small hint of annoyance.

Baekhyun scratched his head awkwardly. Sehun sauntered inside and sat on the sofa. Baekhyun noticed that even his pyjamas were designer. He seemed to be observing them with smug satisfaction.

“Yes, as well as to check on the happy couple,” he said now smiling openly. “I think we should have breakfast and discuss everyone’s bad choices from last night.”   
Chanyeol chucked a cushion at him and he laughed. Baekhyun had rarely seen him in such a mischievous mood, and while it was amusing he was also embarrassed.

Sehun proved to be a decent omelette-maker and Baekhyun helped out by making coffee. Chanyeol obviously wanted to join in, but Sehun was adamant that he was not to be let anywhere near the stove.   
 “The last time you tried to help there were more eggshells than actual egg in the omelette,” he said firmly.   
 “Why do you have a kitchen in here if you can’t cook?” Baekhyun asked.   
 “I’m not that useless but I usually eat at the hotel,” Chanyeol said.   
 “Look, I even bought the instant coffee!” he said eagerly while pointing at the coffee in Baekhyun’s hand.

The penthouse was in absolute chaos, so they stood around the small cleared spot on the counter as they ate. There were bottles and overflowing ashtrays everywhere.   
 “I’m just going to sleep for the rest of the day,” he said tiredly. “What time did I black out? When did the party end?”   
 “I’m not sure but it ended just after dawn,” Chanyeol said. “It was a bit of a process getting people to leave, though.”   
 “Don’t you have work to do today, or something?” Sehun asked. “It’s not fair if I don’t get the day off.”   
 “I think I might have something, but I can’t remember,” Baekhyun said. In his current state he could only focus on one thing at a time. “What do you even have to do anyway?”   
 “Some nonsense,” Sehun replied vaguely while inspecting his nails. Baekhyun was too focused on his hangover to get annoyed by his response so he ignored him.

 “By the way, have you seen my glasses?” he asked Chanyeol.   
 “Uh, well, when you fell off the table they broke,” he said while staring into his coffee. Baekhyun felt his stomach sink.   
 “Now I’m going to be blind in lectures,” he muttered with his head in his hands.

Chanyeol suddenly left the table and quickly returned with Baekhyun’s phone and broken glasses.   
 “It’s been going crazy all day,” he said. Baekhyun was dismayed at the sight of his glasses, but he was more alarmed to see a number of text messages and missed calls.

He gasped when he opened Jongdae’s messages.   
That morning there had been a meeting for their group assignment and Baekhyun had completely forgotten about it.  
 “Baekhyun?”   
He gaped in wordless horror as he scrolled through the messages. He didn’t even dare to open Junmyeon’s. The airy buzz he had been feeling amidst his hangover as a result of his feelings for Chanyeol was extinguished by a tidal wave of stress.

His head was spinning and his gut clenched in anxiety. All he could do was curse under his breath and he felt a new wave of nausea approaching.   
 “Baekhyun? Has something happened?”   
 “I’ve messed up,” he muttered. “I have to go.” He rose from his chair but he moved too quickly and his legs wobbled. Chanyeol placed a hand on his shoulder and firmly sat him back down.

 “You’re not in a state to be running around,” he said sternly. “What happened?”   
 Baekhyun tugged at his hair anxiously.   
 “I had a group meeting today and I forgot to go,” he said quickly. “It counts, like, half of our term mark and now I’ve let everyone down and my cousin probably thinks I’m dead and he’s going to _kill_ me when he finds out what happened – “   
 “Hey, calm down,” Chanyeol said. His deep voice was slightly calming. Baekhyun didn’t realise that he was nearly hyperventilating. He took a heavy gulp of coffee and groaned.   
 “Well, whether you go now or later, you’re still in the same position,” Chanyeol said. It didn’t make Baekhyun feel any better but he knew he was just trying to help.

He sat still for a moment and gathered his thoughts while Chanyeol and Sehun watched him in anticipation.   
 “Okay, I think I should go,” he finally said. Chanyeol stood up with him.   
 “I’ll drop you off,” he said. “Coming, Sehun?”   
He merely shook his head with the hint of a smirk but he wished Baekhyun luck nonetheless.

Baekhyun wrung his hands nervously in the car.   
 “Can I see you tonight?”   
He was surprised at Chanyeol’s question but it lightened the worry in his heart.   
 “If my cousin hasn’t crucified me, then yeah,” he said.   
 “He just cares about you, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said gently. Baekhyun bit his lip. He was unsure of how thin Junmyeon’s patience could stretch. He was still adamant to not tell Chanyeol that he was most likely to be blamed by Junmyeon for causing Baekhyun to stray off the right path.

Chanyeol’s goodbye consisted of a tight hand squeeze, and Baekhyun would have preferred a kiss but he supposed that they had to have a discussion about what their relationship was before they could take things further.

Baekhyun received the strongest glare yet from the shopkeeper, but he was more concerned at the chaotic state of his apartment. Junmyeon had turned the place upside-down. He was probably convinced that he had been kidnapped. Without even closing the door Baekhyun was already dialling his number.

“Hey, Junmyeon –“   
His cousin’s incoherent shouting and cursing blasted through the phone and he held it at arm’s length as it only added to his headache.   
 “Come outside now,” he commanded. Baekhyun did not want to anger him any further so he quickly traipsed back down the stairs and into the street. Despite his poor eyesight he spotted the familiar sight of Junmyeon’s car parked across the street. He wondered how long he had been parked there and whether he had seen Baekhyun arrive.

He hoped that he would get hit by a car because when he reached Junmyeon he almost cowered under his glare. He leaned against the boot of his car with crossed arms and Baekhyun could see two unrecognisable figures inside.

 “Was that Park Chanyeol who just dropped you off?” Junmyeon said before Baekhyun could open his mouth. So Junmyeon had been watching him. This was a whole new level of anger.

All Baekhyun could do was nod. Junmyeon looked as though he wanted to hit something. He looked Baekhyun up and down and pressed his lips together.

 “You look like shit. What happened to your head?”   
Baekhyun swallowed nervously.   
 “I fell,” he said. “I’m pretty clumsy.”

He knew he was testing Junmyeon’s patience as he could see his hands trembling, but Baekhyun could not admit to his drunken antics. Junmyeon would surely put him under house arrest.    
 “Where were you?”   
 “At Chanyeol’s,” he replied. The sun was a bit too bright for his delicate state and the road was too loud. “Can we take this inside?”   
 “What were you doing that caused you to miss your group assignment meeting?”   
Baekhyun cursed Jongdae under his breath.   
 “I just lost track of time,” he said with a determined stare at Junmyeon’s furrowed eyebrows.   
 “Don’t lie to me.”

Baekhyun met his dangerously dark eyes and felt guilt welling up in his chest. He thought that he would be willing to take some responsibility for the first time in his life. He recognised that he had messed up royally and he was ready to apologise to his cousin and vow to never to such a thing again.   
That is until Junmyeon spoke again.

 “This is what happens when you don’t listen to me,” he said hotly. “I told you to stay away from Park Chanyeol and now you’ve gone and hurt yourself and sacrificed your academics.”   
 “It was a mistake!” Baekhyun spluttered indignantly. Hot anger suddenly coursed through his body and his headache throbbed even more.   
 “I’m allowed to make mistakes!”   
 “So failing a course is considered a mistake? If you have to repeat a year how will your mother react?”   
 “Shut up!”

They both stood with their shoulders squared and Baekhyun’s hangover only fuelled his rage. It was just one blunder, and now Junmyeon was making it sound like he had flunked out of university. It was ridiculous.

“This is why I don’t tell you anything about Chanyeol! You just jump to these insane conclusions,” Baekhyun said with sweeping hand gestures. “Like, how can you possibly think I’m going to repeat the year?”   
 “I’ve seen your marks – “   
 “Of course you have! Is nothing private anymore?”   
 “I have to know how you’re doing, Baekhyun! It’s my business to know! You disappear for twenty hours and suddenly turn up looking like shit so how do you expect me to react?”   
 “I could be snorting a line of coke every night at Chanyeol’s penthouse and it still wouldn’t be any of your business!” he shouted. “I’m a goddamn adult!”

Junmyeon gawked at him. Baekhyun knew he had gone too far but he didn’t care.   
 “How can you say shit like that?” Junmyeon sounded exasperated. “You’re so immature –“   
 “I don’t care!” he yelled. His headache spiked. He turned to leave and felt Junmyeon grab his arm.   
 “Baekhyun –“   
 “Don’t touch me!” he bellowed before he jerked his arm away and tore across the road. In his anger he hardly noticed the cars that hooted at his recklessness.

He slammed his door behind him and sat on the floor with his head in his hands. His head hurt too much and he was so upset that he wasn’t surprised when he felt hot angry tears stream down his cheeks.

He was done with Junmyeon. He was done with being insulted and treated like a child. Most of all he was angry at how he could not share his happiness with his cousin. Junmyeon was so against Chanyeol and he didn’t even know him. He could never explain to Junmyeon how much Chanyeol meant to him. It only made Baekhyun cry more. He decided that he was done for the day and took a painkiller and climbed into bed.

It was late afternoon when the blaring ringtone of his phone woke him up.    
 “Hello?” he mumbled with his eyes still closed.   
 “Baekhyun, how are you?” Chanyeol asked.    
Baekhyun rolled onto his back. It felt refreshing to hear Chanyeol’s voice even though he could hear muffled voices in the background.   


“I want to die,” he groaned. “So…I don’t think we can meet up tonight.” He felt extremely guilty but was relieved to hear Chanyeol hum in agreement.   
 “I was calling about that. I have an appointment anyway, and you should recover,” Chanyeol said. Baekhyun thought that he sounded slightly flustered but he didn’t think too much of it.   
 “Anyways, I should go. Hopefully I can kiss you next time I see you! Goodbye!”   
Baekhyun was left spluttering into the phone and Chanyeol cut the call.

He was less concerned with Chanyeol’s vague reference to an appointment and more concerned that he wanted to kiss him. Amidst all of his worries at least he had Chanyeol there for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBT to when Sehun posted that photo of him in those fancy pyjamas that cost more than my tuition.   
> Also the girl's group song was definitely inspired by when I first listened to Blackpink's 'As If It's Your Last' and I diiied.


	6. Chapter Six

Baekhyun had spent the whole of Sunday trying to redeem himself with his group members. Jongdae was tactful enough to not ask him about his absence and remained solely focused on the assignment. Baekhyun was relieved that he had not told Minseok anything. The last thing he wanted was a fight with his friends.

He desperately wanted to tell them about his feelings for Chanyeol and the events of Friday night but he was afraid of their disapproval. While Jongdae was not as blatantly against Chanyeol as Junmyeon was, he was actually very curious about him and often tried to weasel out information from Baekhyun, Minseok was rather suspicious of him.

Baekhyun knew it was because of his protective nature but he would rather not risk getting another person on the anti-Chanyeol team, as Minseok and Junmyeon were very like-minded. However Baekhyun had made the decision to try and introduce them to Chanyeol soon. At least if he had his friend’s support then he could make a decent petition to Junmyeon to get over himself.

On Monday Baekhyun dragged his feet across campus feeling exhausted. He had finished his part of the assignment in the early hours of the morning but he was relieved that it was finally done.   
 “Oh, no wonder you couldn’t make it on Saturday.”

Baekhyun glanced to the side from where he was standing and observing the notice board in the department building. Taeyong, a member of his group, stood beside him with a strange smirk. He had complained bitterly to Jongdae about Baekhyun’s absence before realising that the two were friends. Jongdae had promptly put him in his place and Baekhyun was grateful that he had defended him.   
 “What do you mean?” Baekhyun asked suspiciously. Taeyong shrugged and it annoyed Baekhyun.   
 “Check the headlines online,” he said before sauntering off.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. He had never liked Taeyong as he was an insufferable know-it-all, but he took out his phone nonetheless.   
When he opened the app he felt his breath leave his lungs.

The headline article showed a paparazzi-taken photo of Chanyeol outside a mall wearing sunglasses. But Baekhyun’s eyes were drawn to the dim yet distinct picture of himself in the bedraggled state he had woken up in on Saturday morning. He was barefoot with his shirt half-buttoned and his face was contorted in drunken confusion. He recognised that he was standing in the doorway to Chanyeol’s bedroom. The headline read _Rich Kids of Seoul: Park Group Playboy Throws Lavish Party_.

Baekhyun stared at the headline for a full minute while trying to convince himself that it was real. With trembling hands he finally scrolled down to read it.

_The young heir of Park Group, while relatively quiet, has never been shy of boasting his father’s wealth. This weekend the nineteen-year-old held an exorbitant party at his Gangnam penthouse. He reportedly spent over ₩500000 on alcohol alone._  
Baekhyun felt his heartbeat increase.   
_Perhaps the greatest expense of the night, however, was the heir’s latest companion Byun Baekhyun, pictured above in what is apparently the heir’s bedroom. He was seen wearing the latest Louis Vuitton ensemble with Gucci shoes that were later abandoned after he got raucously drunk on the most expensive soju in Seoul._

_Park Chanyeol is known to spend on his friends, as his ex-girlfriend Kim Yuna was usually seen sporting Cartier jewellery and Chanel items last year that have since been absent after their breakup._

_However, Byun Baekhyun remains relatively unknown in the world of Seoul’s rich youth. He was also seen earlier in the month with Park at the Seoul Film Festival. Perhaps he is merely another plaything of Chanyeol’s, or perhaps he is the one playing the playboy for his money._

Baekhyun stopped reading. He felt nauseous. He turned and stumbled down the corridor without knowing where he was actually going. His legs took him out the department and onto the bustling campus. Then he noticed how people were looking at him.

They had definitely seen the article. Students used the internet religiously. It was no wonder that a nearby group of girls regarded him with arched brows and whispers. Two people openly pointed at him and muttered to themselves as he passed. He put his head down and increased his pace.

Disregarding the accusations of Chanyeol being a playboy, Baekhyun felt a rapidly growing sense of anxiety at having seen himself in the article. He nearly walked into a pair of glass doors and saw that his feet had taken him to the computer labs. He knew that Jongdae and Minseok were inside and his gut instinct was to find them.

He entered and made a beeline for the two familiar heads at the other side of the lab while trying to ignore the stares of the other students.   
 “Baekhyun, are you alright?” Minseok asked and stood up. It was obvious that his hands were trembling and his face was pale.   
 “Can we all talk outside?” he muttered. He realised that his throat was dry.

Jongdae and Minseok followed him outside to a secluded area under the shade of a tree and he showed them the article. He could not bear to watch the shock dawning on their faces as they read and he started to pace on the grass.  
 “I’m so confused,” Jongdae said. “What happened?”   
 “On Friday night I went to Chanyeol’s party and got shitfaced and that’s why I was M.I.A on Saturday,” Baekhyun said quickly. “But everything else in that article is rubbish. I’m not using Chanyeol for his money and he’s absolutely not a playboy or whatever. He’s the kindest and most compassionate person I’ve ever met but now I’ve gone and made him look bad.”

He threw himself on to the grass and held his head in his hands. Then he felt Minseok and Jongdae kneel down on either side of him. Minseok put an arm around his shoulders and he felt a rush of affection for his friends. They did not scold him for getting drunk or withholding the truth from them.

“Have you spoken to Chanyeol about this?” Minseok asked.   
 “No. I’ve barely had time to process this,” Baekhyun replied.   
 “I think you should,” Jongdae said. “Maybe he’s used to this kind of stuff from the media.”

Baekhyun chewed on his bottom lip. He felt awful. He felt as though he had now completely ruined any chance he had with Chanyeol despite their mutual feelings. He felt his phone vibrate in his lap and his heart sank even more when he saw that Junmyeon was calling him. He rejected the call. The last person he would speak to was his cousin.   
He could feel that Minseok was itching to say something concerning Junmyeon but he held his tongue and Baekhyun was grateful.

“Let me call him now,” he said with a sigh as he dialled Chanyeol’s number.   
As Chanyeol usually picked up within a split second of Baekhyun calling him, he was worried when it went to his voicemail. He tried again but to no avail.   
 “He’s probably at work,” Minseok said gently. “Don’t think he’s avoiding you or anything.”   
That was exactly what Baekhyun was thinking.

No matter how many times he tried, Chanyeol would not answer his phone. Baekhyun had to suffer through the rest of his lectures in a state of stress. He was grateful for Jongdae and Minseok’s support but he needed the final affirmation from Chanyeol that he had not made a total blunder. Throughout the day he was highly conscious of the stares of his fellow students.

During his last lecture of the day he decided to fuel his misery by checking the online comments on the article. Perhaps they would be so awful it would make him laugh. But the article was on longer online. He asked Jongdae to try and search for it but nothing came up in the search results.   
 “That’s so weird,” Jongdae muttered as he stared at his phone. “Do you think it got removed?”   
Baekhyun didn’t know how to feel.

When he was walking back from the library at six o’clock, he finally received a call from Chanyeol.   
 “Chanyeol – “   
 “Baekhyun, I can’t talk now, but I got that article taken down so don’t worry.” Baekhyun stopped in his tracks under a street lamp. It sounded as if Chanyeol was in a car and he sounded slightly distracted.   
 “I’ll call you from Sehun’s phone. Don’t try to call mine, okay? I’ll talk as soon as I can.”   
 “Okay –“   
Chanyeol cut the call and Baekhyun hardly felt any less worried.

While ignoring the continuous calls from Junmyeon, Baekhyun waited the entire night for Sehun’s number to pop up on his screen. It was midnight when he slumped over and his still tender bruise collided with the surface of the desk. He decided that enough was enough and phoned Sehun.  

 “Hello?” Sehun answered after a painful few seconds.   
 “Sehun, have you heard from Chanyeol? He said he would phone me from your phone,” Baekhyun said quickly.   
Sehun paused. There was the sound of the phone being roughly passed around.  

“Baekhyun!”   
He sighed with relief upon hearing Chanyeol’s voice. But he had so many questions he did not know where to begin.   
 “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I’ve probably made you look like – like I don’t even know what and I understand if you never want to speak to me again – “   
 “Baekhyun, can I come over now?” Chanyeol interrupted.   
 “Yeah, sure,” Baekhyun spluttered. He had never heard Chanyeol sound so hassled before. But he felt slightly relieved because if he truly wanted nothing to do with him then he surely would not be coming over to his flat.

Baekhyun paced around his room while he waited for what felt like an agonising half an hour. He heard the sound of tyres in the quiet street below and pulled back the curtains with such force that unhinged from the railing. He had to squint to see Chanyeol’s Mercedes parked right in front of the shop before he turned and bolted out the room.

Chanyeol clambered out the car and Baekhyun was quick to put a finger to his lips.   
 “I don’t want the owner to hear us,” he whispered and Chanyeol nodded in understanding. He looked thoroughly dishevelled in his Adidas tracksuit. Baekhyun led him into the shop and was careful in the opening and locking of the door. They were both silent as they crept up the stairs to his flat. Once he had closed the door behind him they both burst into speech at the same time.

 “It’s all my fault – “   
 “I’m sorry for not answering – “   
They paused for a second.   
 “Don’t be sorry – “   
 “It’s not your fault – “

Baekhyun felt a smile creep onto his lips. It was the first time he had smiled all day.  Chanyeol ran a hand through his tousled hair.   
 “Baekhyun, it’s not your fault in any way,” he said. “I have no idea who could have taken that photo but the article’s gone now.”   
 “How did you get it taken down?” Baekhyun asked. “And who wrote it anyway?”   
Chanyeol averted his eyes to the floor for a brief moment.   
 “My father can threaten to sue for defamation of character,” he said. “It was some hack-journalist, but she was sold the story by someone who was at the party.”

Baekhyun suddenly remembered the moment when he had stood in the bedroom doorway calling for Chanyeol.   
 “There was someone there,” he said as realisation dawned on his face. “But it was so dark I couldn’t see. I just heard them.”   
Suddenly a change came over Chanyeol’s face that startled Baekhyun. His eyes narrowed and his jaw hardened. He even seemed taller and Baekhyun thought that he would not like to be on the receiving end of such a transition.

“Did you recognise their voice? Man or woman?” he asked.   
Baekhyun shook his head.   
 “I honestly can’t remember,” he said. “Also, why can’t you use your phone?”

Now Chanyeol sagged back to his usual slouch and sighed. Baekhyun gestured for him to sit. He practically fell into the chair.   
 “My father…isn’t happy,” he said while he fiddled with the edge of his jacket sleeve. “I mean, there’ve been little scandals like this before that we’ve been able to hush up. Like when I broke up with Yuna it was way worse.”   
Baekhyun felt a surge of annoyance at the mention of the girl.   
 “But I think it was the way the article spoke about you.” Chanyeol glanced up and met Baekhyun’s gaze.   
 “It’s a lie – “  
 “I know.”   
Baekhyun felt slightly embarrassed. Of course Chanyeol knew that he wasn’t merely using him for his money. But he needed the final affirmation nonetheless.

Suddenly Baekhyun glanced at the Rilakkuma piggy bank by his bed. Chanyeol followed his gaze.  
 “Don’t you dare bring up the money,” he said quickly. “Anyways, my father thinks I’m not taking my position seriously and I’m basically being punished.”

Baekhyun was slightly amused despite the situation.   
 “So did he ground you and take away your toys and phone?” he asked with an attempt at a laugh.  
 “He’s tracking all my calls,” Chanyeol said absently.    
A sudden wave of regret overcame Chanyeol’s face as if he should not have spoken. Baekhyun was stunned.   
 “Oh,” was all he could say.   
_Tracking his calls? How did that even work? More importantly, what kind of power did Chanyeol’s father have?_

He suddenly remembered Junmyeon’s warning about Park Group being more powerful than Baekhyun could imagine. But as he was still thoroughly annoyed with his cousin he pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind.  
 “He thinks I’m at Sehun’s house,” Chanyeol said quickly. “Sehun drove me here, actually, but he didn’t want to come in.”

Baekhyun felt slightly guilty that Sehun had to sit in the car outside in the middle of the night, but he was also grateful that Sehun possessed the tact to leave the two of them to sort out their issues. That reminded Baekhyun of another pressing matter.

He sat down across from Chanyeol and tried to calm his heart rate.   
 “Chanyeol, er, what are we?” he blurted out without attempting any sense of eloquence.   
Chanyeol blinked in confusion.   
 “We’re best friends who like-like each other,” he replied as if it were the most obvious answer.   
 “Didn’t we say that on Saturday?”   
 “No – yes – we did,” Baekhyun stuttered. “It’s a relationship, right? I just need some clarity because I’m honestly new to this sort of thing.” He waved his hands around wildly in an attempt to calm himself. But Chanyeol grinned at him.   
 “You know that time I came around for headphones? I knew that you didn’t have any in stock but I just wanted an excuse to see you again.”

Baekhyun nearly choked on his own spit. He was flattered and confused and embarrassed and giddy all at the same time and his instant reaction was to laugh nervously.   
 “I don’t know how to respond,” he stammered. But he was relieved when Chanyeol took some initiative and leaned across the table and kissed him on the lips.

Baekhyun would later reflect on how incredibly awkward he was. In social situations he was a natural despite his reclusive tendencies. But _this_ was something entirely foreign to him. He did not know whether he should close his eyes or move his hands or make a sound so he merely stared at Chanyeol’s closed eyes with his hands hanging limply at his sides. However, in the present moment he only felt a rush of pure affection and contentment and he smiled against Chanyeol’s lips.

Chanyeol pulled away and Baekhyun took a gulp of air. Chanyeol looked down with a shy smile and it was an incredibly endearing sight.   
 “Thanks,” Baekhyun said before he could stop himself. He slapped a palm to his head.

_What kind of an idiot thanked someone for a kiss?_  
Chanyeol laughed and clapped his hands in amusement.   
 “It’s so funny seeing you being so awkward,” he chuckled. Baekhyun slapped his arm with a smirk.  

But their brief respite from their personal problems was interrupted when Chanyeol’s phone rang.   
 “Hello?”   
 “Chanyeol, there’s some creeps across the road. I think they’ve been parked here for a while now,” Sehun’s muffled voice echoed through the speaker.   
 “They were here before we arrived, but I only saw them move now.”   
Chanyeol stiffened.   
 “Baekhyun, hit the lights,” he said quietly. Baekhyun obeyed despite his bewilderment.

Then he and Chanyeol crept to the window and peered through the gap in the curtains. There was a dark car across the street, parked out of the light of the street lamps. Baekhyun frowned as he squinted at it. Now that he thought about it, that car had been there ever since he got home from campus.

“I can see it,” Chanyeol said to Sehun. “I’m coming now.”   
He cut the call and closed the curtain with some difficulty before turning to Baekhyun. They stood staring at each other in the darkness.  
 “Chanyeol, I can’t see anything,” Baekhyun said in an attempt to break the tension.   
 “I don’t want to go,” Chanyeol said softly. Baekhyun wished he could see his expression but he was also reluctant to move.   
 “Who are they?” he asked despite his better judgement.   
 “I don’t know, but I think my father might be tailing me.”

Baekhyun was still in disbelief. He knew that he had issues with Junmyeon, but he could not imagine him going to such extents. It was just plain invasive and patronising. He wondered about what Chanyeol’s relationship was like with his father.

 “I’m sorry, Chanyeol.”   
He didn’t know how else to verbalise his feelings. He thought that Chanyeol must surely have a strenuous relationship with his father due to the pressure of being the heir of Park Group.   
 “Don’t be.” He sounded forlorn and Baekhyun really wanted to turn on the lights.

Instead he reached out for Chanyeol’s hand. As it was dark and he had bad eyesight as it was he succeeded in grabbing a handful of his shirt instead. Chanyeol laughed at his splutters of apology and he was quick to grab Baekhyun’s hand before he could jerk away.

 “I’ll try to see you in secret,” he said softly. “Maybe my father will calm down after a few weeks or so.”   
Baekhyun hoped that he was right.

They exited the shop as quietly as possible while hand-in-hand. At the door Chanyeol turned to kiss him on the cheek before parting and climbing into the car and Baekhyun grinned in contentment. He had barely closed the door before Sehun drove off. Baekhyun watched it disappear into the darkness with a heavy sigh. He glanced at the mysterious car across the street and squinted. He should really work on getting new glasses.


	7. Chapter Seven

Despite the fact that the article had been removed, Baekhyun still faced an unprecedented amount of glares and stares from students on campus. He knew that once something was posted on the internet it could never be entirely removed. People could still take screenshots and use other means of saving things before they disappeared.

He liked to think that he was thick-skinned and that the opinions of strangers didn’t bother him. It was true that he couldn’t care less about other people.  
But he had started to receive hate messages on his social media and it had become mentally taxing.

People accused him of being a gold-digger amongst other far more vulgar insults. Some messages slandered Chanyeol and Baekhyun had to restrain himself from responding. He didn’t know which messages hurt him more. But he was thankful to have the support from Minseok and Jongdae. He had decided to not tell Chanyeol about the hate messages.

Autumn had fully declared itself with the rapid increase in Baekhyun’s schoolwork. The dying leaves would be set ablaze in the glow of the early sunsets and a sharp wind would pierce through Baekhyun’s clothes while he walked home after spending hours at the labs or the library. He was still without glasses and it had resulted in him having to ask Jongdae to take extra notes for him in lectures. It was an improvement that he had started taking notes, but as he could barely see the screen all he could do was listen to the lecturer.

He had not seen Chanyeol since his midnight visit. He usually phoned or video-called him from Sehun’s phone in the late evening and they would talk for hours until either Baekhyun fell asleep or Sehun would get annoyed and demand the return of his phone.

* * *

 

Baekhyun was relieved that Junmyeon had taken the hint and stopped harassing him.  However, he had a family event coming up at his mother’ house and he knew that his cousin would be there.

And so on a rainy Saturday morning he waited impatiently outside the convenience shop for Junmyeon’s car to arrive. His heart skipped a beat when a black Mercedes pulled up but he was quick to recognise that it was different from Chanyeol’s car. He gaped when he saw that Junmyeon was the driver.

 “Where did you get the car?” he asked in awe as he climbed into the passenger seat. Despite how it was fresh off the showroom floor, as indicated by the pleasant smell, there was already a mess piling up in the back seat.  
 “I have a job,” he replied absently.

Baekhyun was about to mention that Junmyeon did not have a steady career and worked various jobs for his father, the current one being the full-time manager of the video game shop, but he decided against an argument.

Baekhyun waited for a lecture or an outburst but Junmyeon was silent and kept his eyes on the road. Baekhyun bit his bottom lip. The silence was not tense but Baekhyun still found it slightly disconcerting.  
 “How’s uni?” Junmyeon asked.  
 “Fine,” he replied while he stared out the window at the rainy world that whizzed past him.  
 “I got a seventy for my last test.”  
Junmyeon flashed him a genuine smile and Baekhyun felt relieved.  
 “That’s good,” he said with a nod.

They chatted idly during the drive before arriving at Baekhyun’s mother’s house in the suburbs. He had not been home in a while, largely due to the nagging of his overbearing family, but now he realised how much he had missed his mother. He was greeted with hugs and kisses from his mother and other family members. He was surprised to see that his uncle had returned from China. Like his mother, his uncle looked young for his age and could pass for someone in his forties. Baekhyun had never seen him without his thick dark hair being neatly parted and well-kept.

He had only seen photos of his father but he knew that he was his mother’s son through and through. The only thing he inherited from his father was a set of chromosomes and his last name. Baekhyun had never been particularly sad about his father’s death as his uncle had stepped up to the role.

He couldn’t cry over someone he didn’t remember. He had mostly cried for his mother’s sake when he had seen her forlornly looking at his father’s portrait on late evenings when she thought Baekhyun was asleep. He had once been teased at school about not having a father, but Junmyeon had been quick to sort out any kids who dared pick on his cousin. Baekhyun had cried when he saw the punches Junmyeon had taken for him.

His only hang up was that his father’s family had been totally absent from his life. His mother never spoke about them and had informed him that his grandparents had died long before he was born, so there was really nothing he was missing out on. But if they had been mentioned quickly in passing, Baekhyun did not fail to notice the hard glint that would appear in his uncle’s eye.

But whether out of pity for being fatherless or some other reason Baekhyun could not discern he had always been particularly mollycoddled by his family. He had not been spoilt, but aunts were always quick to fret over his wellbeing and whatever he was doing at the time.

Now he sat at the table on the brink of falling asleep out of fullness and his aunt gently tapped him on the shoulder.  
 “Baekhyun, you’re looking a bit thin, would you like some more food?”  
 “Oh, no, thank you,” he said. He was sure that he had put on weight in the past few months due to his endeavours with Chanyeol, but his aunts were always on a mission to feed him.

He noticed that Junmyeon and his male cousins had risen from the table to follow his uncle to the other side of the house.  
 “Hey, where are you going?” he asked Junmyeon.  
He opened his mouth to speak but his mother quickly stood up.  
 “Baekhyun, you can come help me with the dishes,” she said. “Your cousins are just going to discuss work.”  
Baekhyun frowned. He had not been at a family gathering in a long time, but now if he thought about it his male family had always disappeared for a while after eating.  
 “Okay,” he replied as he reluctantly followed his mother to the kitchen.

He was playing with his younger cousins in the wet garden outside when he noticed Junmyeon standing at the bottom of the garden with a cigarette.  
He could hardly believe his eyes. The children whined when he said he was leaving, but he ignored them and hurried over to Junmyeon.

 “Since when do you smoke?” he asked incredulously.  
Junmyeon appeared to have been so lost in thought that he did not hear Baekhyun approaching and jumped.  
 “When I’m stressed,” he muttered before taking a long drag. Baekhyun wrinkled his nose at the smell.  
 “What did you discuss with uncle?” he asked boldly.  
 “Work,” he said with a shrug.

Baekhyun made a sound of frustration. He was intent on knowing what this work entailed. Surely his uncle did not have to discuss his various businesses at a family gathering in private?  
 “You sound so shady,” he whined. “Just like Chanyeol –“

He caught himself but it was too late.  
Junmyeon gave him a sharp look. Baekhyun maintained eye-contact for a tense moment.  
 “Can I finally talk to you about Chanyeol, then?” Junmyeon asked.  
 “I think it’s going to rain again,” Baekhyun said. He tried to dodge away but Junmyeon grabbed his arm and rooted him to the spot. Baekhyun sighed in defeat.

“What do you want to talk about? The embarrassing article that I’ll never live down?” Junmyeon took another puff of his cigarette.  
 “Yes,” he said with an exhale of smoke. “First of all, you lied to me – “  
 “Because you would freak out if I told you that I got drunk and passed out – “  
 “And rightly so!” Junmyeon snapped. “You went to a stranger’s home and anything could have happened.”

Baekhyun was trying desperately to contain his temper. He did not want to start an argument at his mother’s house. He noticed that some of his younger cousins were observing him and Junmyeon as they stood with squared shoulders while glaring at each other.  
 “He’s not a stranger,” Baekhyun said in a forcefully calm voice. “You have no idea how much he means to me.”

Junmyeon looked confused. His cigarette was fizzling out in his hand but he didn’t notice.  
 “Park Chanyeol is compassionate and soft-hearted and…and just overall an amazing person, but you’ll never understand,” Baekhyun said bitterly. Junmyeon’s eyebrows rose in realisation.  
 “You’re more than friends?” he asked cautiously.  
 “Yes. Boyfriends, partners, whatever, but don’t think for one minute that he would hurt me in any way. Don’t insult him like that when you hardly know him.”  

Junmyeon, for the first time in Baekhyun’s living memory, looked completely baffled. He took a step backwards and glanced at the ash dripping from his cigarette. Then he shook his head while in thought.

Baekhyun was prepared to argue. He was even prepared to storm out and walk back to his flat. But he was not prepared for a small smile to play on Junmyeon’s lips. He clasped Baekhyun on the shoulder.  
 “You really like him, don’t you?” he said quietly.  
 “Yes,” Baekhyun said firmly. “I can’t explain it but we just _get_ each other.”

 Junmyeon looked slightly sad while he smiled though Baekhyun could not figure out why.   
 “Well, I’m happy for you but I can’t say that I’m not concerned,” he finally said. Baekhyun rolled his eyes.  
 “I hope you realise that article was mostly garbage. What could you possibly be concerned about?”  
Junmyeon shrugged. Baekhyun frowned.  
 “If you’re going to constantly be up my ass about Chanyeol then at least tell me why –“  
 “Junmyeon, why are you smoking here?”

Baekhyun stopped midsentence to turn around and see his uncle standing with crossed arms.  
 “Sorry,” Junmyeon said quickly. He crushed the cigarette under his shoe.  
 “Baekhyun, I never got to ask how you felt about working at the shop during the holidays,” he said with an arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders.  
 “It was alright,” Baekhyun said. “I honestly don’t know how you stay in business, though. Hardly anyone came in.”  
His uncle shrugged.  
 “Don’t worry about it. It’s busier now that Junmyeon works there,” he said. Baekhyun hardly understood that logic as he knew that his cousin did not spend all his time at the video game shop. Also, surely it would be quieter now that the holidays had long ended?

“Anyways, I saw your little stint with Park Chanyeol,” he said with a raised eyebrow. Baekhyun felt his gut clench. It was one thing to be scolded by Junmyeon but his uncle was a different story. His uncle’s expressions were always unreadable, but his tone did not indicate any sense of anger.  
 “Yeah,” he said lamely. “Uh, that was a bit embarrassing.”  
 “They’re good friends,” Junmyeon said quickly. Baekhyun wanted to shoot him a glare, but at the same time he didn’t want to keep Chanyeol a secret, so he nodded in agreement.

His uncle stroked the stubble on his chin in a moment of thought. He removed his arm from Baekhyun’s shoulders. Baekhyun noticed the brief look he shared with his son but he could not figure out its meaning. All of the secrecy was starting to annoy him.  
 “With all due respect,” he said slowly. “What’s going on? Why is there always so much weirdness regarding Chanyeol? Like, I get that he has money and power but it doesn’t affect me.”

Junmyeon raised his hand as if to stop him from speaking but thought better of it. Baekhyun’s uncle gave a resigned sigh.  
 “Baekhyun, we just don’t want you getting mixed up with the wrong people,” he said. “Park Group is more than just a conglomerate.”  
Baekhyun restrained himself from pulling a face.  
 “I get that, really I do. I’ve seen his hotel and everything, but I’m friends with him and not his family.”  
 His uncle regarded him with a frown.  
 “I’m not a child,” he said. He felt that he had repeated that phrase too often in the past year.  
 “Just watch yourself, Baekhyun,” his uncle said before gesturing to Junmyeon to follow him into the house.  
 “You really don’t want to get into debt with a Park.”

Baekhyun sulked on a bench while absent-mindedly watching his younger cousins play. What on earth did his uncle even mean? He was sick of the vagueness and the condescending treatment, but he was beyond being angry anymore.  
At least he wasn’t being tailed or spied on by his own family like Chanyeol.

* * *

 

It had been too long since they last saw each other. Baekhyun practically ran into Chanyeol’s arms outside the convenience shop and he happily ignored the burning glares he knew he was getting from the shop owner. Chanyeol lifted him up slightly as he returned the hug.

 “I’ve missed you!” he said. “Let’s get going. I bet you’re starving.”  
Baekhyun smirked as he climbed into the Mercedes after Chanyeol.  
 “You make it sound like you’re my benefactor and that without you I’m a starving orphan,” he said, earning a laugh from Chanyeol.

“Hey, Sehun!” Baekhyun said happily.  
 “Hi, Baekhyun,” the boy replied from the driver’s seat with his usual small smile.  
 “Why are you driving?” he asked.  
 “You’re still contraband,” Sehun replied before Chanyeol could speak. “So I’m in league with regulating this illegal relationship.”

Chanyeol chuckled and kicked Sehun’s seat and Baekhyun laughed despite his slight embarrassment. He was also happy to see Sehun after such a long time as he considered the boy a good friend despite his reserved and stoic nature. He knew that, if in the right environment, Sehun could goof around just as much as Baekhyun did with Chanyeol.

Despite his high spirits he could not ignore the flaw in Chanyeol’s logic.  
“But aren’t we going to a place where everyone will see us together?” he asked to fuel his curiosity.  
 “Yeah, but it’s not like it’ll be people who work directly for my father, you know?” Chanyeol said.  
Baekhyun sort of knew where he was getting at, but he thought that if they appeared in public together then his attempt at secrecy was sort of useless.

He thought it odd to be happy at returning to Gangnam but he assumed that it was because he associated Chanyeol with the place. It was an almost surreal type of place where he always ended up enjoying himself. He had made more of an effort with his appearance this time but he told himself that he wasn’t trying to redeem himself in the eyes of Chanyeol’s social circle. He wore black slacks and the shoes Chanyeol had bought him with an open white shirt. He had even rolled up the sleeves the way Chanyeol had showed him and had styled his hair.

He and Chanyeol chatted incessantly and only heard Sehun the third time he spoke.  
 “Hey, shut up, we’re here,” he said with less annoyance than what his face showed.

Baekhyun squinted out the window and easily recognised the imposing Phoenix Hotel. The car was handed over to a valet and they were soon seated in the dining room and making a raucous noise. Baekhyun was just really happy to be reunited with his friends and disregarded the stares from the other guests.

“I should really introduce you guys to Minseok and Jongdae,” Baekhyun said through a mouthful of the finest Korean beef.  
 “Oh, the ones who’re dating?” Chanyeol replied. Baekhyun nodded.  
 “Though I wish you could’ve seen them before,” he said with a laugh. “They were both so obviously crushing on each other, but at the same time they were obliviously stupid about it.”  
 “Sounds familiar,” Sehun said quietly before taking a bite out of his own beef and observed Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s embarrassed splutters with a small smile.

 “Don’t you feel like the third wheel, though?” Chanyeol asked quickly.  
 “Nah, it’s actually more natural this way,” he said.  
 “Maybe you can all go on a double date together,” Sehun suggested. While Chanyeol hit him on the arm, Baekhyun was quick to smother his own embarrassment.  
 “But then won’t you be the ultimate third wheel, Sehun?” he said with a smirk. “You’ll actually be upgraded to the fifth wheel.”  
Chanyeol grinned cheekily.  
 “Actually, Sehun might have a boy– OW!”  
Sehun had been quick to pinch Chanyeol’s side and gave him a pointed look.

Baekhyun gasped dramatically.  
 “Our little Sehun! With someone!” he cried. He grabbed his unused wine glass and held it up. “Please allow me to make a toast for this momentous occasion!”  
 “We’re just…friends,” Sehun said while he rolled his eyes. “Sit down, you’re making a noise.”  
Surely enough, their table had attracted half of the dining room’s attention. Baekhyun thought that seeing as Chanyeol was still being punished, he shouldn’t make it any worse for him and chose to sit down and keep the banter at a respectable volume.

While Baekhyun could not get any more information out of Sehun about his supposed boyfriend, the dinner continued enjoyably. It reminded Baekhyun of the dream-like summer holidays he had spent with Chanyeol before he had realised his own feelings for his friend.

“Where to next?” Baekhyun asked in the car. He was very content after having eaten three different types of dessert. He would have been happy with just sitting in the immobile car to be honest.  
 “ _Exodus_ ,” Chanyeol said beside him. “We didn’t get around to any proper dancing when we were last there, you know? And I know how much you like dancing,” he said with a grin at Baekhyun.  
 “Well, that was when I was off my face,” he said with a laugh. “But when I’m sober I think I can dance just as well.”

The Mercedes cruised through the streets of Gangnam. As soon as night had fallen the neon glow of the city came to life and illuminated the streets. Baekhyun squinted out the window and made out the blurry blue sign of _Exodus_.

Instead of stopping the car, however, Sehun drove until security waved them into the discreet entrance of the underground parking lot. They drove past countless sports cars before parking in a designated parking bay. Baekhyun jumped when the front tyres connected with the wall.

 “Sehun, how did you even get your license?” Baekhyun asked with a laugh.  
 “I didn’t,” he said simply, meeting Baekhyun’s eyes in the driver’s mirror. Baekhyun thought he was joking but Chanyeol’s smirk confirmed it.  
 “No one’s died yet,” Chanyeol commented as they climbed out the car. Baekhyun did not feel reassured.  
 “But you’re the designated driver tonight, so don’t drink,” he said sternly to Sehun who rolled his eyes.

They entered the elevator without security even batting an eyelid and Baekhyun felt proud that he did not look shabby. They came to a stop at the first floor and were greeted with the same pulsating music that Baekhyun remembered. Chanyeol dragged him and Sehun to the dance floor that was already swarming with people. Chanyeol was in an excessively good mood due to the small bit of wine he had drunk at dinner and it rubbed off onto Baekhyun.

In no time they were in the middle of the dance floor, bathed in a deep blue light, and dancing with their limbs flailing around chaotically. Baekhyun had not seen Sehun do anything other than drink and judge people from a corner at Chanyeol’s party, so he was shocked to see him actually dancing with them and grinning all the while. What was more shocking was how good he was at dancing. Despite being nearly as tall as Chanyeol he was able to control his limbs and move in such a way that made onlookers stop and stare.

“WOO! SEHUN!” Baekhyun shrieked over the music and Chanyeol’s whoops as Sehun danced in a way that was not a far cry from pole dancing. Now extremely buzzed, Chanyeol surprised Baekhyun by taking his hands and attempting to copy Sehun’s moves. Baekhyun could hear Sehun’s roaring laughter over the music and it made the whole thing even more hilarious. He did not want Chanyeol to let go despite how he pulled his arms at awkward angles and nearly hit him in the face multiple times.

All Baekhyun could focus on was Chanyeol’s wide grin while trying to stop them both from falling over. Chanyeol leaned over close to Baekhyun’s face and he could see nothing but pure happiness lighting up his eyes. Chanyeol moved his hands to Baekhyun’s shoulders and he felt the heat rising in his face. With one hand on Chanyeol’s arm he moved the other to the back of his neck and weaved his fingers through his damp hair. Chanyeol’s grin widened and he cast his eyes down to Baekhyun’s lips. He gently pulled him closer to bring their foreheads together. 

Chanyeol succeeded in head-butting Baekhyun with such force that he nearly bowled him over. He fell into Sehun’s arms and laughed hysterically while Chanyeol fretted over him but his words were drowned by the music.

When they were all thoroughly exhausted they made their way to the third floor. Baekhyun nearly walked into Chanyeol, however, when they saw Junho and one of his entourages already seated at their designated booth seat. His hair was dyed black and it made his angled bone structure more severe. 

 “Chanyeol! Sehun!” he said pleasantly. But his eyes narrowed when he noticed Baekhyun standing to Chanyeol’s left. He merely greeted him with a nod.  
Chanyeol had sobered up quickly and seemed slightly disgruntled as he greeted the group.

Baekhyun sidled into the booth between Chanyeol and Sehun and felt slightly constricted, as the people from Junho’s group took up so much space. Sehun sat on the edge of the seat as if ready to run away. Baekhyun wondered how much Sehun put up with for the sake of his friendship with Chanyeol. The group’s discussion was something that Baekhyun could not relate to for once so he felt slightly left out while he listened to them discuss current affairs.

All Baekhyun could gather from their conversation was that some politician had died in a suspicious car accident. They were all sitting forward while they spoke and Chanyeol’s face was very serious. Baekhyun was slightly disappointed because he wanted to joke around and laugh with him. The excited buzz in his body was rapidly fading away into boredom.

Chanyeol sounded as though he was making an effort to try and divert from the topic though. He eventually steered the conversation to cars and the air became slightly less tense.  
 “I think my car could use a service,” Chanyeol said thoughtfully.  
 “It’s no wonder considering the way Sehun drives it,” Baekhyun quipped with a grin.

Instead of receiving a glare from Sehun which Baekhyun knew he deserved, as it was low of him to make a joke at Sehun’s expense around people he clearly disliked, he instead received blank looks from Junho and his companions.

For a moment he thought that they had not heard him, but Junho maintained eye-contact with him for an unpleasantly silent moment before resuming the conversation. Yuna outright glared at him with crossed arms.

Baekhyun saw Chanyeol’s crinkled brows. He opened his mouth as if to interrupt Junho but stopped himself. Baekhyun wasn’t sure what would be an appropriate thing to say anyway as he was just as bewildered. He sat back in the chair and decided against trying to join the conversation. He felt slightly dejected. He may as well have been a part of the furniture.

After a few boring minutes Sehun nudged Baekhyun and gestured in the direction of the outside terrace.  
 “See you in a minute,” he muttered to Chanyeol before stepping up beside Sehun.

“What’s up with them?” he asked Sehun as soon as they were outside in the cold night air. He shivered slightly. Sehun leant against the glass railing with crossed arms.  
 “They’re pretentious asses,” he said curtly. “I’m willing to bet on my life that it was one of them who took that photo of you.”

Baekhyun was taken aback. While he had enjoyed the pretence of fitting in with the group, it was obvious that they were fickle and somewhat pompous. But he struggled to believe that they would go to such lengths.  
 “But…why is Chanyeol friends with them?”

He felt like a naïve child, but Sehun did not scoff at him.  
 “I wouldn’t call it friendship,” he said. He took out a cigarette. Baekhyun noticed that it was the same brand as Junmyeon’s. He took a long drag and exhaled away from Baekhyun’s direction.  
 “They’re convenient associates,” he said after a moment. “Chanyeol is their superior. Junho has the most power, though. He’s the heir of Chung Electricals.”

Baekhyun suddenly felt very stupid for thinking that Junho of all people was a good friend of Chanyeol’s. It should have been obvious by the way he spoke to Chanyeol. Unlike the others, who were overly flattering and respectful, Junho had always toed the line between friendly banter and the type of teasing that was inappropriate for someone who was not a close friend. But then Baekhyun remembered the little information he knew about Park Group.

 “But doesn’t Park Group own Chung Electricals?” he asked.  
 “I wouldn’t say own,” Sehun said thoughtfully. “It’s not quite that.”  
Baekhyun didn’t want to press it because he frankly did not care. All that mattered was that Junho was a confirmed sleazy bastard.  
 “So, who would be out to get me?” he asked with a bark of laughter. “I’ve done nothing to any of them.”

Sehun inhaled deeply.  
 “You’re a threat to them, Baekhyun,” he said simply with the cigarette between his lips. “It’s because of how close you are with Chanyeol.”  
Baekhyun wrinkled his nose in disbelief but Sehun nodded in affirmation.  
 “Chanyeol and I have been friends since childhood. But, to put it bluntly, I was his only friend until he met you.”

Baekhyun thought he had misheard Sehun. He blinked in surprise but he did not know what to say. He felt strangely flattered that he had brought about some sort of positive change in Chanyeol’s life, but he also felt slightly sad for him.

Chanyeol was such a genuinely friendly person that Baekhyun assumed him to have droves of friends. It was apparent that people took advantage of his kindness and outgoing personality. He assumed that Chanyeol must have been hurt many times in the past by people he had tried to be friends with. Baekhyun marvelled at how Chanyeol had not become a closed-off and suspicious person. 

Sehun smiled and it was the widest smile Baekhyun had seen on him. It made him look like an ordinary eighteen-year-old and not the sassy and stoic man who always accompanied the heir of Park Group.

 “But…why?” Baekhyun asked after a moment. He had a hunch about the answer though.  
“It’s not that they want a genuine friendship,” Sehun said and his smiled faded.  
 “They just like the idea of being close to Chanyeol so that they can use him for their own gain. They’re all older than us, so their parents have probably prepped them since childhood to get close to Chanyeol, and by doing so get close to Park Group, but they didn’t succeed.”

Baekhyun frowned in distaste. People really were the worst. Another reason why he kept to himself. He had only had Minseok and Jongdae for the majority half of his life and he felt a rush of affection for them. In school he had had a few friendly acquaintances, but they were people who just enjoyed Baekhyun’s jokes rather than being committed friends.

He leaned over the railing and sighed down at the street below.  
 “How angry was Chanyeol’s father?” he asked. Sehun came to standbeside him. He made sure to keep his cigarette at a decent length away from Baekhyun.  
 “Well, I wasn’t there, but it was probably the angriest he’s ever been,” he said quietly.  
 “He’s been really hard on Chanyeol for the past year as it is. He doesn’t think he’s cut out to inherit Park Group, so this was the cherry on the cake.”

Baekhyun could not help but feel partially responsible despite Chanyeol’s many reassurances that nothing had been his fault. He felt even worse that he could now hardly socialise with him. But he was grateful to have Sehun with him. They stayed on the balcony for a while and commented on the scenes in the street below.  
In the back of his mind Baekhyun thought that Chanyeol’s father was being unnecessary.

Chanyeol was too young for his father to make any judgements about him running Park Group. He was only nineteen, for God’s sake. It wasn’t as if he was racking up debt and scandals every weekend.

“Sehun, there you – oh.”  
Baekhyun and Sehun were interrupted from their commentary of the street’s events turned around and saw Junho standing behind them with a drink in his hand. The blue lighting from the pulsating club behind him cast him in an ominous glow. He had obviously been looking for Sehun and was displeased to discover that Baekhyun was with him.

 “I wanted to discuss business,” he said with a pointed look. Sehun pursed his lips.  
 “You want to discuss business at half-past eleven on a Saturday night?” Sehun said dryly. Junho smirked.  
 “Well, this is the time and place that _our_ type of business is often discussed, isn’t it?”

Baekhyun felt Sehun stiffen beside him but his face remained stoic. As if he could feel the waves of growing dislike rolling off of Baekhyun, Junho turned his smirk to him.  
 “I’m guessing you still don’t know what we mean when we talk about business, hey, Baekhyun?” he said with an arched brow.  
 “I don’t really care, to be honest,” Baekhyun said despite it being a blatant lie. He was not in the mood for banter of any type and he was especially not in the mood to give Junho a reaction.

He took a step closer to him and Sehun.  
 “But I feel so sorry for you, Baekhyun,” he said with a heavy sigh. “You’re _so_ close to Chanyeol and yet you don’t even know who he really is.”  
Baekhyun rolled his eyes while he noticed Sehun clenching his jaw.  
 “I know that he only puts up with your annoying ass out of common courtesy,” Baekhyun said.

But then Junho started to chuckle and it was extremely annoying. He was so patronising that Baekhyun wanted to hit him.  
 “You really are dense!” he sneered. “You’ve known Chanyeol for how long now? Can’t you put two and two together?”  
 “Chung, shut up,” Sehun said in a low voice. Baekhyun scowled at Junho but he really didn’t know what he was getting at.

 “Do you really take everything at face value? You think that Park Group is all glitzy venues and friendly handshakes?”  
 “You’re just talking shit now,” Baekhyun said. He motioned for Sehun to leave the balcony with him but Junho leapt in his path.  
 “Move – “  
 “Park Group is a part of the mob, you idiot.”

Before Baekhyun could even register what he’d said, Sehun shoved Junho with such force that he fell over and spilt his drink all over himself. Sehun wasted no time and bent down to grab him by the front of his shirt. His cocky smirk was replaced with wide eyes and a lopsided gaping mouth.

 “I dare you to speak again,” he said in a deadly low voice. He muttered something that Baekhyun did not catch because at that moment a girl screamed.  
He turned to see Yuna to his great dismay.    
 “What are you doing?” she cried. Sehun let go of Junho’s shirt and he fell back against the ground. She was smart enough not to stop Sehun from pulling Baekhyun away and back into the club. He looked over his shoulder and saw her fretting over Junho. 

However they were the least of his worries. His mind was reeling.  
 “Baekhyun, he was talking trash,” Sehun said into Baekhyun’s ear over the music. “Now he’ll probably spread some rumour that we started a fight or something. But I’ll beat him to it.”

Sehun steered him back to the table and tapped Chanyeol on the shoulder. He spoke quickly into his ear and Chanyeol gaped at both of them.  
 “Junho did _what_?” he exclaimed. “Baekhyun, are you okay?”  
Baekhyun was stunned.  
 “Uh, yeah,” he said quickly. He was so confused and the loud music hardly gave him any time to gather his thoughts. He watched Chanyeol and Sehun talking without really paying attention.

Park Group…a part of the mob. That meant that Chanyeol was a part of it too. Baekhyun hated that his only frame of reference for organised crime was film. He tried to imagine Chanyeol in the same setting of _New World_ or _The Godfather_.  
The expensive suits. The cold attitudes. The reckless violence.

There was no way Chanyeol was a part of it.  
While it would be no surprise if Park Group did partake in some shady dealings, it was a massive conglomerate after all, Baekhyun thought that likening it to the mafia was an exaggeration.  
_The man hit himself in the face while laughing, for God’s sake. How on earth could he be a high-level criminal?_

“Baekhyun, let’s leave now.”  
Chanyeol’s voice brought him back to reality. He let him drag him out of the club while his mind raced. He was somehow inside the car and Chanyeol was shaking his shoulder.  
 “Baekhyun? Are you sure you’re alright?”

Baekhyun turned to look at him. His brows were furrowed in worry.  
 “I’m fine,” he said with a smile. “Junho’s a dick. There’s no surprise there.”  
 “As long as he didn’t hurt you,” Chanyeol said. He was speaking more to himself than to Baekhyun. Sehun was silent while he drove, while Chanyeol complained about Junho.

“Honestly, they were all so rude to you,” he huffed with crossed arms. “All because of that stupid article.”  
 “It’s weird how it caused so much hate,” Baekhyun muttered. He suddenly froze as he realised that he had verbalised his thoughts and definitely should not have spoken.  
Chanyeol looked around at him with a raised eyebrow.  
 “Hate? What do you mean?”

At that moment Baekhyun realised that just as it was impossible to lie to his friends and family, it was even more impossible to lie to Chanyeol and his large enquiring eyes.  
 “Uh, the internet – I mean the backlash – “  
 “Did people send you hate?” he asked as he leant forward.

Baekhyun stared resolutely at the back of Sehun’s head.  
 “Yeah, but it was nothing – “  
 “Baekhyun!” Chanyeol exclaimed, causing both Baekhyun and Sehun to jump. The car swerved a little and Sehun cursed under his breath.

 “It wasn’t a big deal,” Baekhyun stuttered.  
 “Show me, now,” Chanyeol demanded. This was the only time he had ever demanded anything of Baekhyun so he helplessly pulled up the anonymous messages on his phone and handed the device over to Chanyeol.

As Chanyeol scanned the messages his frown deepened and Baekhyun worried for the safety of his phone as Chanyeol’s grip around it tightened. His other hand was curled into a fist in his lap and his knuckles were nearly white.

 “Chanyeol –“  
 “This is _them_ ,” he said in a voice that Baekhyun never thought would come from his mouth.  
“Not all of them, but I’ll bet my life on it. Junho is definitely behind this.”  
Baekhyun saw Sehun’s narrowed eyes in the driver’s mirror.  
 “Are we going to look into it?” he asked. Chanyeol nodded.  
 “I’ll take screenshots of this,” he said as he got to work on the phone.

Baekhyun grabbed his arm and he looked up in surprise.  
 “Hey, I don’t want to cause any more trouble,” he said quickly. “They’re just idiots. They’ll want a reaction from me.”  
 “No, I’m going to teach them a lesson,” Chanyeol said. His face was set in a hard frown and Baekhyun knew that he couldn’t sway him.

Baekhyun watched in a nervous silence as Chanyeol sent the screenshots to his own phone. He had never seen such a change come over his cheery demeanour. Suddenly Junho’s words came to his mind. He stared at Chanyeol and took in the image of him wearing his Rolex and expensive suit while looking livid. Now he certainly looked like he had the power and the determination to ruin someone’s life.  
If were not so young then he could even pass for a mobster.

But Junho had surely been lying to get a reaction from Baekhyun. He was trying to change the way he viewed Chanyeol to create more drama. The sudden change in Chanyeol was certainly shocking, but Baekhyun tried to erase Junho’s words from his memory.

What was more shocking was that they were suddenly in a McDonald’s Drive-thru.  
 “Do you want ice-cream?” Chanyeol asked, still frowning. Baekhyun gaped at him. Chanyeol took it as an affirmative and told Sehun to order three ice-creams and enough chips for five people. Within minutes they were sitting in the parking lot eating their McFlurries.

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun managed to say. He had not touched his ice-cream.  
 “If you’re going to offer to pay, then I don’t want to hear about it,” he said simply. He dipped a chip into his ice-cream and chewed it thoughtfully.  
 “We’re dating, so I’m supposed to buy you things.”  
“It works both ways,” Baekhyun retorted.  
 “This is me making up for exposing you to Junho and all of that bullshit,” he said as he waved his plastic spoon around.  
 “But it’s my fault I got drunk,” Baekhyun said.

He felt a slight surge of annoyance. He just really wanted to make some sort of reparation after seeing how upset Chanyeol was about the hate messages.  
 “I feel like I need to do something to make up for all of this,” Baekhyun said firmly. Then a sly grin came over Chanyeol’s face.  
 “You can make up for it with a kiss,” he said.  
 “For the love of God, don’t do it here,” Sehun said from the front.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you to everyone who has left kudos and comments so far :)


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: minor violence and kidnapping

Despite everything that had transpired, Baekhyun had kept it all to himself. Sehun gave the impression that he should swiftly forget about it, so he never brought it up with him. He could hardly think of how he would explain the situation to Jongdae and Minseok, so he did not tell them about Junho’s possible lies. Telling Junmyeon was out of the question.

Chanyeol had wasted no time in taking action against the people who had sent Baekhyun hate messages. He had told Baekhyun that the ones who were connected with Junho were quietly being sued and that was the end of it. Baekhyun wondered if it was a legitimate suing, or if they were just being intimidated into keeping quiet and handing over money. Baekhyun had adamantly told Chanyeol that he wanted none of the money and for the first time he listened to him. But Sehun had quietly told Baekhyun that Chanyeol would probably spend the money on him anyway.  

Baekhyun often found himself wondering about it though. And he had started to become afraid. When his mind drifted in lectures, when he lay awake in the early hours of the morning, his mind would always stray to the possibility of Chanyeol being connected with the mob.

He remembered how vague Chanyeol was whenever he spoke of his work or his father. He had never disclosed to Baekhyun about what his work entailed. But perhaps it was just because it was a boring topic of discussion. Baekhyun concluded that he was probably just being too nosey and Chanyeol had a right to keep some things to himself. Certainly his work was none of Baekhyun’s business.

But whenever Junho had vaguely alluded to their work Baekhyun had always been thoroughly confused. Sehun had always been apprehensive, when Baekhyun thought hard about it, and that in itself was suspicious.

At three in the morning Baekhyun was jolted from his sleep as he had suddenly remembered the times when Sehun had been referred to as the ‘Pretty Boy’. What on earth did that mean? When they had that odd altercation with that man in the parking lot it was certainly suspicious.

He toyed with the piggy bank in his hands while he tried to make sense of everything concerning Chanyeol and Sehun. He felt a growing sense of anxiety in his core and he hated it. He remembered the time Chanyeol and Sehun had bruises on their faces and now he could certainly not conjure up a logical explanation for it.

Every fibre of his being told him to try and forget about it because he was better off being blissfully ignorant of anything that he did not want to know. But at the same time his burning curiosity was trying to get the better of him.

He kicked off the duvet in frustration and picked up his phone from his bedside table. He felt idiotic as he searched for the Korean mafia on the internet, but he felt that there was really nothing else he could do.   
He read all the relevant Wikipedia pages, despite knowing how inaccurate the site was, before falling down a deeper rabbit-hole on the internet. He read everything there was to read for hours in his bed. The recent death of a politician was linked to the mafia. News of a shootout in Shanghai was linked to the Korean mafia. He read seemingly endless articles about the matters.

Once he was satisfied with his knowledge, he decided that the final thing he had to do was search Park Group’s relations with the mafia. He felt as though he was standing on the precipice of an abyss. His fingers nearly trembled when he typed into the search bar. Baekhyun half expected an article to pop up with Chanyeol’s face on the front despite knowing how ridiculous that would be.

He breathed a sigh of relief nonetheless when he found nothing that directly linked Park Group to any sort of organised crime. There were certainly articles about dubious dealings of the company, but there was no outright evidence. He had managed to convince himself that Junho had been telling blatant lies and was able to sleep peacefully.

* * *

 

Baekhyun was walking home from a particularly long day of lectures. He had stayed late at the labs once again, but he was proud of himself as he was seeing an improvement in his marks as a result. It was rather dark as the moon was hidden behind rainclouds. He pulled his beanie over his ears and shivered slightly as a biting wind crept upon him.

It appeared that Chanyeol’s father had calmed down, as Chanyeol had been able to get his phone back and had taken Baekhyun out to dinner two nights ago. Baekhyun smiled at the memory of the sushi buffet they had demolished with Sehun. He did not mind Sehun accompanying them one bit.

If anything, his relationship with Chanyeol had hardly changed, and that was the way it was supposed to be. He thought that entering into a relationship with his best friend should not change the fact that they were best friends. He wanted to take it slow anyway, and he was not a huge fan of PDA.

As his schoolwork had increased in deadly amounts, he had forced himself to prioritise it over Chanyeol despite how much it pained him. But Chanyeol had been understanding and had praised him for being diligent and his praise meant more than anyone else’s. Being apart was a little easier now that Chanyeol had his phone back.

Baekhyun was trying to avoid puddles while he walked and just as he had turned the corner he glanced up and spotted the car. It was the car that he now recognised without his glasses as it was always parked across from his flat whenever he came home from campus. Even when Chanyeol dropped him off late at night the car was there. He stopped and retreated slightly so that he was out of the streetlight above him.

While he had thus far never been able to see the people inside the car, his mind was jumping to his past revelations concerning Junho and the others. When he thought about it, that car had appeared shortly after the article fiasco. Could it perhaps have some connection with Junho and the people who had harassed him online? Or, and he hoped this was not the case, was Chanyeol’s father involved in some way? He had tailed his own son, so Baekhyun wouldn’t put it past him to spy on him as well.

Baekhyun bit his lip in thought as he stood in the shadows. He took out his phone to try and take a photo of the license plate but he forgot to turn off the flash.   
 “Shit!”   
He scurried backwards with his back against the wall and kept very still. He waited for a minute and there was no sound of tyres or footsteps. Another car rushed past from the opposite direction and he jumped.

He thought he was being an absolute idiot, but he quickly sent the photo to Chanyeol and briefly explained how the car was always there. He dared to peek around the corner again. Now if he thought rationally, he thought that it could belong to someone in the area who just kept it parked in the street. Feeling thoroughly stupid, he scoffed at himself and made to turn the corner to continue his journey home.

At that moment he felt hands grab his arms and cover his mouth and he was yanked back into the shadows. He kicked and struggled as he was dragged. He tried to let his legs slip so that he could fall out of their grip but the phantom hands only held on tighter.

He bit down hard into the hand that covered his mouth and it was quickly pulled away. But as he tried to scream he was suddenly gagged by someone who was cursing. He felt his legs hit something hard and he came to a stop. While it was very dark he could gather that they had dragged him into a side street and that he was leaning against the boot of a car.

 “Christ! Calm down!” a male voice said. It sounded more exasperated than angry. The hands holding him back wrenched his arms back and he felt them tying something around his wrists. While they fumbled for a brief second with his bonds he pushed himself backwards onto the boot and swung his legs around in a hard kick.

The person stumbled back but the kick was not enough to knock him over and he quickly grabbed a hold of Baekhyun’s legs. He thrashed around even more, adrenaline coursing through his body and every fibre of him was screaming at him to try and get away. The person holding his arms was struggling to bind them and was cursing all the while.

Then he felt a sharp jab in his neck and it only heightened his panic. He managed to kick the one person in the face and he let go to clutch his bleeding nose. Baekhyun threw himself to the side and slid off the car but as he hit the ground he felt his body becoming slow. He screamed through his gag as he tried to get up but his arms slipped underneath him and he felt his limbs starting to go numb.

He saw three pairs of feet standing around him ready to apprehend him if he were able to get to his feet. His scream died in his throat as he fell onto his back, totally losing feeling in his body. He was dizzy and his head felt impossibly heavy. The last thing he saw was the inky sky before his eyes shut.

* * *

 

The first thing Baekhyun felt was a sharp pain in his head and stomach. His eyes were so heavy that he thought he had lost the ability to open them. He heard muffled voices and something that sounded like running water. He tried to move but he couldn’t actually tell if he was moving. After what felt like five minutes his eyelids slowly lifted.

He first saw a cracked yellow ceiling and realised that he was lying on a bed. The flickering fluorescent light was too bright for his sensitive eyes. He realised that the sound of running water was in fact heavy rain coming from outside. He turned his heavy head to the right and saw a filthy window. It was pitch black outside.

Then the muffled voices became clearer and he realised that they were coming from inside the room. He lifted his head up and squinted to see three men standing around a low table with their backs to him.

Suddenly he remembered that he had been gagged and dragged off the street and his senses came back to him with a gasp. He launched himself off the bed and bolted for the door. But his legs were not fully recovered and he only made it halfway across the room before he lost his footing and fell over onto the rough carpet.

 “Hey! Calm down!”   
 “GET AWAY!” Baekhyun shrieked as one of the men approached him. He now saw that they all wore masks obscuring the lower half of their faces. Baekhyun kicked out his legs and he backed off with his hands held in the air.   
 “Listen, you need to relax-“   
Baekhyun screamed incoherently over him and tried to scramble towards the door again but he could not stand properly.

Suddenly the tallest rushed forward produced a gun from out of nowhere. Baekhyun froze on the carpet. He stared at the gun at his side and his stomach clenched in a bout of fear.   
 “If you don’t calm down, we’re going to sedate you again,” he said gruffly. “And it’ll fuck up your body so don’t make us do it again. We don’t want to hurt you.”

Baekhyun thought that he must be losing his mind.   
_Insanity was the only reasonable explanation._   
He could not find his voice.

 “Just go lie down again and you’ll feel better,” the one closest to him said in a tired voice. He was the shortest and wore a bright red tracksuit and judging by his swollen face, he was the one Baekhyun had kicked earlier. The third member of the group remained standing by the table and observed them all with his arms folded. He had an air of authority about him and Baekhyun assumed that he was the leader. Even though the lower half of his face was obscured there was something vaguely familiar about him.

There was a heavy silence before Baekhyun tried to sit up. He realised that his hands were not bound and it only made him more confused.

 “Who are you?” he finally asked. His throat was dry and it hurt when he swallowed.   
 “We’ve taken you hostage for a ransom fee. We won’t hurt you and this can hopefully be sorted out by morning,” the one holding the gun said.   
Baekhyun stared at him. He was so casual about the situation.

“B-but why me?” he spluttered.   
 “You’re close to Park Chanyeol,” he replied. He glanced at his watch. “It’s currently half-past one in the morning but we’ve been unable to contact him.”

Baekhyun felt the desire to throw up. He realised that his legs were trembling. He had been unconscious for hours and yet Chanyeol was unreachable.   
Baekhyun was too overwhelmed to move or even notice the approach of the man in the tracksuit. He took a hold of Baekhyun’s arms and swiftly pulled him to his feet. He was too shocked to react to the man producing cable ties from his pocket. He quickly bound his hands in front of him. 

 “Don’t fight back,” he said as he guided Baekhyun back to the bed and roughly made him sit down. He held out a bottle of water but Baekhyun pressed his lips together.   
 “Like we said, we don’t want to hurt you,” the bald man said with a sigh. “So just take the water and behave.”

The man in front of him pressed the bottle against his lips and the water spilled down his chin before he finally gave up and drank it. He realised just how thirsty he was and drained the entire bottle.   
 “Why do you keep saying you don’t want to hurt me?” he asked. The sharp pain in his head lessened slightly and he was now more alert.   
 “What kind of kidnappers are you?”   
The man pocketed his gun and snorted.   
 “Kid, if we leave on mark on you then Park Chanyeol will skin us alive. We just want the money,” he said.

Baekhyun watched as they regrouped before him. They seemed like ordinary thugs. They weren’t even well-dressed and were unshaven. He wondered if they were acting alone or under the orders of a higher power. Baekhyun was also concerned about how it was apparently common knowledge that he and Chanyeol were close.

The article had only been up for a short while and Baekhyun wondered how many people had seen it. The longer he observed them the longer he felt an eerie sense of familiarity while looking at the leader.

“What did you drug me with?” he asked. He didn’t know why he was asking them questions but he supposed that he needed to try and make sense of the situation.   
 “It’s a simple sedative,” the shortest answered. “But it might make you sick.”   
 “Thanks for the concern,” Baekhyun scoffed under his breath. He pushed himself back against the headboard. The leader had taken out a laptop and was typing away. The other two were invested in a phone.  


“Park isn’t answering his phone,” the bald one announced in annoyance. He suddenly marched over to Baekhyun and shoved the phone in his face.   
 “Is this his number?” he asked.

Baekhyun did not recognise the number so he quickly recited Chanyeol’s number. If he answered and the kidnappers were able to negotiate and reach an agreement then Baekhyun would feel more at ease. But it would only add to the number of burning questions he had.   
The man dialled the number and passed the phone to the leader who quickly left the room.

Baekhyun waited while trying not to let his worry consume him. He was scared of the kidnappers despite their reassurances of not hurting him, but he was even more afraid of their connection to Chanyeol. He chewed on his bottom lip until he felt a sharp pain and realised that he had drawn blood.

The man returned after an agonising wait and turned his unreadable gaze on Baekhyun. He tried not to squirm under his gaze as he felt particularly vulnerable.  
 “You’re a lucky boy,” he said gruffly. He gestured for the other two to follow him out the room, much to Baekhyun’s dismay. He had no idea what was going on and it only made him more agitated. He glanced around the room and tried to find any means of escaping. But there was a sudden clap of thunder outside and he jumped.

His nerves were nearly frayed when the men finally returned to the room.   
 “What’s going on?” he asked with an effort to keep his voice steady. The storm was worsening outside and it added to his anxiety.   
 “We’re waiting for Park to get the money, and then we’ll hand you over,” the leader said in a gruff voice. The more Baekhyun heard his voice the more a distant bell rang in the alcoves of his mind.

 “How long will that take?” Baekhyun asked before he could stop himself. At this point he didn’t care if he appeared weak in front of them. He just wanted to get out of that awful yellow room and away from the men.

The man shrugged.   
 “It depends on his father, I guess.” He turned to discuss something in a low voice with the other two, totally ignoring Baekhyun and his attempts to ask any more questions.

They completely ignored Baekhyun and sat absorbed in their phones. He stared at the leader all the while. He was certain that beneath his mask there was an unshaven face that he had once seen. As time passed he became more certain that the man was the one who had confronted Chanyeol after the film festival during the summer holidays.

The man he had referred to as Choi. The man with the unsettling gaze that never failed to make Baekhyun feel uncomfortable. To Baekhyun that incident seemed so long ago, almost as if it had been a dream or the life of someone else that he had just been observing. He never would have thought that he would be kidnapped and held for ransom.

It took all of his willpower to stop himself from bursting into tears. Despite the late hour and the effects of the sedative, Baekhyun was wide awake on account of his nerves. He desperately tried to tug his hands out of the cable ties but it only resulted in cutting into his wrists. He had lost his phone so he had no idea of how much time had passed since Choi had phoned Chanyeol.

The storm outside made him jump with each thunder clap, earning him a few snickers from the bald man. As much as he wanted to get as far away from them as possible he also wanted to throw a few punches.

“How much is my ransom?”   
The others looked up in surprise. Baekhyun was desperately trying to keep his sanity so he let his mouth work before he could think.   
 “₩100 000 000,” the bald one responded. “I think we should have raised the price, though.” He stroked his stubble thoughtfully. “Hey, maybe we should phone him back and throw in something else – “   
 “No, we can’t afford to test Park’s patience,” Choi said curtly.

Baekhyun could hardly fathom such an amount. He knew that Chanyeol would have the money but he didn’t want to think any more about it.   
 “How do you even know who I am?” Baekhyun asked.   
 “It’s our business to know how we can get at our rivals,” the shortest responded. When he saw Baekhyun’s frown he scoffed.   
 “It’s the usual racketeering rivalry,” he said with a shrug. “We’re just following orders.”

Baekhyun wished he had never spoken. He could not associated Chanyeol with racketeering of all things. His nerves were getting the better of him. He felt slightly nauseous. He felt that if he had to wait in that stifling yellow room any longer he would die.

 “I need the bathroom,” he said with an effort to keep his voice steady.   
 “It’s in there,” the bald man said with a gesture to the door to the left of the bed. Baekhyun was still shocked at how relaxed they were for kidnappers, although he was still very wary of them.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and ambled to the bathroom where he locked the door behind him. Now he knew he had to act quickly. He turned on the tap slightly and let the water run while he carefully stepped into the dirty bathtub. There was a window just above it. With some difficulty he stepped up onto the edge of the bath. The window was level with his chest. He peered out and saw that they were on the ground floor. A dim outside light showed an empty parking lot swamped with rain.

He fumbled with the window for a moment as his bound hands were restricting him. But when he was able to push it open it made a loud creak. He froze, his heart thumping against his ribcage, before abandoning any attempt at self-preservation and reached forward to try and pull himself onto the windowsill.

 “What are you doing in there? It’s time to go,” a loud voice echoed on the other side of the door. There was loud knocking followed by swearing.   
Baekhyun cursed his lack of upper-body strength and his bound hands. As soon as he jumped to try and propel himself forward the door burst open behind him.   
 “Fuck! He’s getting away!”

A surge of adrenaline spurred him forward but the window was too narrow for his shoulders. While he tried to squirm forward a pair of hands grabbed his ankle and pulled him back and off the window sill. He jerked out of his grip but his other foot slipped on the edge of the bathtub and he fell forward and his face crashed into the hard porcelain edge of the tub. The pain was blinding but he hardly had time to process it before a hand yanked him up by his collar and he was slapped across the face.

 “You stupid boy!” the bald man bellowed. “What the fuck are you trying to do?”   
Baekhyun saw the other two burst into the bathroom and there was a new explosion of cursing. He felt hot blood gushing from his nose and his right eye was rapidly swelling. But the searing pain in his face only fuelled his rage and fear.

“Fuck you!” he shouted and he brought up his knee to crash into the man’s chin. He dropped Baekhyun and stumbled backwards. He was about to launch himself at Baekhyun, and despite his bound hands he was ready to claw the man’s eyes out, but Choi suddenly pulled him back.   
 “Don’t kill him,” he muttered. “We’re leaving now anyway.”

Baekhyun swore and thrashed around as he was hauled out of the bathtub and roughly pushed around until he was forced into the back of a car. Now they seemed to not care about his wellbeing because when he was shoved in his head hit the edge of the car door. They sat on either side of him and gave him threatening glances every time he fidgeted.

He had no idea what time it was but it was still pitch black and raining outside. He also had no idea what part of the city they were in as they drove through the dark streets. He was still breathing heavily but his adrenaline and rage was quickly dissipating. His face was in agony and he felt exhausted and afraid.

The car stopped and they sat in the dark for a moment. Baekhyun didn’t listen to their mutterings. All he could hear was his pulse pounding in his ears.

 “He’s here,” the leader suddenly spoke up. Baekhyun felt his gut clench. He was suddenly being pushed out the car and into the rain. It was lighter now but he was still getting wet. He squinted and saw a car parked a few metres away and a figure with an umbrella approached.   
 “Ugh, it’s _him_ ,” the shortest muttered.

Instead of Chanyeol, it was Sehun who appeared and Baekhyun had never been so relieved to see the boy. He was carrying a briefcase that Baekhyun assumed contained his ransom. His face was steely and he only glanced at Baekhyun once.

 “This is the agreed amount. But I see that you did not even meet your own terms about not harming him,” he said in a low voice. Baekhyun’s eye was now thoroughly swollen and it was difficult to see.   
 “The little shit got himself hurt!” the bald one exclaimed. “He did it on purpose!”   
 “You liar,” Baekhyun spat.   
 “Just hand over the money so we can get this over with,” Choi cut in. “Then we can forget this ever happened.”

Sehun’s mouth twitched. He tossed the suitcase towards them and the shortest was quick to catch it before it landed in the mud. Then Baekhyun jerked his arm out of the bald man’s grasp and stumbled forward to Sehun who held out his umbrella.   
 “Let’s go,” he murmured.

Baekhyun could feel the three pairs of eyes watching as he and Sehun went to the car. As soon as he climbed into the passenger seat beside Sehun he saw the boy pull a gun from his jacket.

 “Sehun, don’t,” a voice from the backseat said. Baekhyun momentarily forgot his shock and glanced in the mirror to see an unknown man sitting at the back.   
 “It’ll only make a mess. We can sort them out later,” he said. Sehun hesitated with his jaw clenched before stowing away the gun and starting the car.

Overwhelmed by his racing thoughts and emotions, Baekhyun slumped against the window.

 “You’re in the mob,” he finally muttered after a few moments. Sehun blinked. “And so is Chanyeol. And Park Group. Am I right?”   
Sehun pursed his lips.   
 “Yes,” he said quietly.

 “Where’s Chanyeol?” Baekhyun asked. He realised that his hands were still bound but he didn’t care. He didn’t care that blood was all over his face and the front of his sweatshirt, or that his hair was plastered to his forehead with a combination of sweat and blood. He only cared about seeing Chanyeol. For his peace of mind he needed to see Chanyeol so he could explain everything.   
 “His father wouldn’t allow him to come,” Sehun said slowly. “But you’ll see him soon.”

Baekhyun registered that the car was practically soaring over the wet tarmac. Flashes of the past four months were coming to light now. Every odd moment he had experienced with Chanyeol and Sehun could all be related to the fact that they were involved in organised crime.

The briefly shared glances had carried so much weight.   
The vague excuses of the work they did at night.   
The times when Sehun disappeared on Saturday nights.   
The way other people treated him with reverence.   
The weighted nickname ‘Pretty Boy’.

 “You’re…you’re Chanyeol’s right hand?” Baekhyun asked. Sehun seemed surprised at the question.   
 “Yes. My family has been the right hand of the Parks for generations,” he said. He briefly met Baekhyun’s eyes. “Baekhyun, we’ll explain everything soon.”

Baekhyun shook his head slowly.   
 “You lied to me. Both of you,” he muttered. “You…when Junho said those things. You lied straight to my face.”   
Sehun’s face remained stoic.   
 “Baekhyun, we’ll explain everything soon,” he repeated. Baekhyun slumped further in his chair. He felt absolutely drained.

He thought that he was starting to doze off in the car until the car skidded to a halt. Baekhyun squinted in confusion as he recognised that they were outside Junmyeon’s house.

Before he could open his mouth Sehun was already climbing out the car and opened his door for him. He had just placed his foot on the pavement when Junmyeon came tearing out the darkness.

 “Baekhyun. Baekhyun, oh my God.”   
He held Baekhyun by the shoulders and scanned his face. Baekhyun could see that he had been crying.

 “Junmyeon, what’s going on?” he asked. He felt his sore throat tighten. It was becoming all too much for him to take in. Junmyeon produced his pocket knife and quickly cut the cable ties. He stared at Baekhyun’s bloodied wrists and his hands shook slightly.

 “Junmyeon,” Baekhyun choked out before his cousin pulled him into a tight hug. His pain and emotions overwhelmed him and tears welled up in his eyes as Junmyeon ushered him out of the darkness and the rain and into the house.

Junmyeon sat him down in the living room. It was small and incredibly messy.   
 “Let me clean you up,” he said gently. Baekhyun grabbed his arms to keep him seated.   
 “No,” he gasped through his tears. “What’s going on? How do you know Sehun? Please just tell me. _Please_.”

Junmyeon’s faced looked pained as he met Baekhyun’s eyes. He held his hand tightly.   
 “Baekhyun, we…our family does work for Park Group,” he said slowly.   
“All of my dad’s shops are fronts for it. And,” he paused and took a deep breath. “Sehun and I are half-brothers.”


	9. Chapter Nine

Baekhyun stared at Junmyeon.

His eyes were red from crying and he was unshaven. His hair was dishevelled and he had undoubtedly smoked an entire pack of cigarettes judging by the heavy scent of deodorant that he used to mask the smell.

Baekhyun took in the stressed appearance of his cousin but felt that he could not gather much sympathy.

 “I…what?” He could not find his ability of speech. His brain could not comprehend what he had just heard. His eye was throbbing and it made his thoughts even slower.  
Junmyeon sat back with a resigned sigh.

“I’ll start from the beginning,” he said as he ran his hands through his unkempt hair.  
 “Our family has always owned a few shops, as you know. Our grandfather got involved with a gang in his youth. You know, just doing a few small jobs for money. Then it sort of escalated into the family business. We’ve been doing jobs for Park Group for over twenty years now. It’s why I was wary about you seeing Chanyeol.”

Baekhyun’s eye throbbed as he struggled to take in what Junmyeon was saying.  
 “So… it’s always been like this?” he asked softly.  
Junmyeon nodded.  
 “What about Sehun?” Baekhyun asked as he suddenly noticed the boy hovering at the entrance to the lounge.

He had abandoned his stoic expression and his face was furrowed in concern and hesitation and he looked his age. He did not look as though he had pulled out a gun earlier with the intention to kill three men.

 “My dad knew Sehun’s mother...they had a brief affair,” Junmyeon said in a gentle voice. “But I only found out about this a few weeks ago.”  
 “My dad...” Sehun started but he stopped and glanced away as though in pain.  
 “He doesn’t know,” he said curtly.

Baekhyun glanced from Junmyeon to Sehun. The boy quickly darted out the lounge.

 “Why didn’t anyone tell me anything?” Baekhyun asked. Some strength had returned to his voice. Out of all the burning questions that invaded his mind, that one stood out the most.

 “Your mom never wanted you to get involved in the family business,” Junmyeon said as he reached to take Baekhyun’s hand.  
He stared at his cousin’s hand. Strong and slightly stocky with visible veins. A few rings donned on his fingers.

 “Why?” His voice was louder. “Why didn’t anyone think to ask me?”  
He met Junmyeon’s dark eyes.  
 “Baekhyun,” he sighed. “Your father didn’t die in a car accident. He was assassinated by a rival gang.”

Baekhyun pulled his hand away and stared at Junmyeon in disbelief.

 “No,” he said with a shake of his head. “You and Sehun are brothers and you’re all gangsters and suddenly my dad was one too? _No_.”

He tried to stand but his legs were weak and he fell back down onto the sofa.

Suddenly Chanyeol burst into the living room with Sehun behind him.  
 “Baekhyun!” he exclaimed. He looked absolutely hysterical.

But as soon as Baekhyun saw him he felt as though he had been stabbed in the chest. Seeing the raw worry and emotion on Chanyeol’s face only made him feel more confused and angry and betrayed.

 “You all lied to me,” Baekhyun said. Chanyeol stopped in the act of approaching him. Baekhyun was breathing heavily.  
 “You – you lied to my face!” He pointed a trembling finger at Chanyeol. “Whenever I asked about your work, or – or whenever I asked about anything!”

Chanyeol stared at him with wide eyes.  
 “Baekhyun, calm down,” Junmyeon said as he stood up. Baekhyun rounded on his cousin.  
 “Junmyeon I was just _kidnapped_! Because no one told me shit about gangs and Park Group a-and my own fucking family!” he yelled. “So don’t tell me to calm down!”

His voice rang in his ears and the pain in his face spiked.  
 “You even lied about my dad’s death! How long have you known?”  
 “Baekhyun – “  
 “It doesn’t matter anyway,” Baekhyun spat. A wave of hot anger surged through him like an electrical current and he jumped from the couch and marched out of the living room.

 “Baekhyun! Don’t!” Chanyeol cried desperately as he reached to grab his arm.  
 “For once in your life listen to me and leave me alone!” he barked in a strangled voice as he jerked away from Chanyeol’s reach and bolted for the front door.

Baekhyun ran out into the dusky street without even putting on his shoes. He could hardly see through the rain and his tears and it felt as if his chest was going to explode from his overexertion. He was running downhill and his momentum got the better of him and he nearly slipped in a puddle and stumbled to a stop.

He stood bent over and panted heavily. It was the grey silent hour before the break of dawn and all he could hear was the patter of rain and his own strangled breaths. His socks were soaked through and his feet hurt from running on the pavement.

He stood up and grasped the railing of the roadside. He wasn’t looking anywhere in particular and his mind was reeling.

 _No. No. No. No. This can’t be happening._  
Sehun and Junmyeon.  
My family.  
Chanyeol –

The sound of tyres skidding on the wet tar made Baekhyun jump. He turned around to see Chanyeol clambering out of the driver’s seat.

 “Baekhyun, please come back. You’re going to get sick,” he pleaded.  
 “As if you care,” Baekhyun spat. “Did you lie about that too? Was everything just bullshit? Am I just entertainment for you?”

He saw the hurt expression cloud Chanyeol’s face and his posture sank.

 “I never lied about that,” he choked. The rain masked the tears Baekhyun knew were streaming down his face and he felt his own emotions clogging up in his throat.  
He felt so upset and betrayed that the only thing he felt necessary was to make Chanyeol feel the same way.  
 “I love you so much, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun took a shuddering breath and turned away. He could not bear to look into Chanyeol’s widened eyes. They were so deep and fathomless that he was sure he would be swallowed by an abyss of his guilt and betrayal if he looked into them. He heard Chanyeol quietly sobbing behind him.

“Please just let me take you back to Junmyeon. You’re not in a good condition. Then…then I’ll leave you alone. I promise. Please, Baekhyun.”  
Baekhyun turned around and the sight of Chanyeol’s anguished face made his gut twist with regret.

But surely if Chanyeol had been honest with him then he would not have been kidnapped. He would not be sore and bleeding and traumatised.

But it also wasn’t Chanyeol’s fault that Junmyeon had kept secrets about his own family from him.

His head hurt too much and he was too emotional to try and be logical. So he gave Chanyeol a curt nod and climbed into the car.

Chanyeol sniffed back his tears while driving and Baekhyun just wanted to pass out from his physical and emotional exhaustion. Before the car had even stopped properly outside Junmyeon’s house he threw himself out and was met by his cousin who had been anxiously pacing outside the front door.  
The look of anguish on Chanyeol’s face had burnt itself into his mind.

“Wash up first. Then I’ll tend to your face,” Junmyeon said in a pleading tone. All Baekhyun could do was nod. He barely noticed Sehun discreetly leaving the house while he ambled to the bathroom. He barely noticed time passing in the shower before he realised the water was scalding his sensitive wrists and face.

Junmyeon leant him some clothes and they sat in silence in the bathroom while he tended to Baekhyun’s wounds.  
 “It’s not broken, but it’ll be swollen for a bit,” Junmyeon said quietly as he applied a cold ointment and a plaster on Baekhyun’s nose.

 “I’m hungry,” Baekhyun murmured. He was starving and had only just felt a pang of hunger.  
 “I’ve got some leftovers,” Junmyeon said. He finished applying plasters on Baekhyun’s wrists before gesturing for him to follow him to the kitchen.

Again, they sat in silence. Baekhyun ate half of the rice Junmyeon gave him before he started to feel nauseous. It was a combination of the night’s events and the effects of the sedative that had been used on him.

He stood up silently and nodded to Junmyeon in appreciation of the food. At this point he did not care if he was being rude. He needed to sleep. He needed to take a break from his life for a moment.

Despite the burning sense of betrayal he felt, he still instinctively curled up in Junmyeon’s bed. There were too many thoughts burning in his mind. Some of them focused on Junmyeon’s own feelings. But Baekhyun needed to rest before he could feel any sense of empathy or feel anything at all. As soon as his head hit the pillow his exhaustion overcame him and he fell asleep to the sound of the rain outside.

* * *

 

Baekhyun was warm and very comfortable. But the light throbbing pain in his face woke him up. He squinted and saw that the room was dark. He turned over onto his side and registered someone lying beside him.

He jumped with a gasp before he realised that it was Junmyeon.  
 “Sorry! Are you okay?” he asked frantically.

Despite his pounding heart Baekhyun nodded. He moved closer to Junmyeon and rested his head on his shoulder. He silently put his arm around Baekhyun. He had no idea what time it was but he was warm in the dim room.

Baekhyun thought back to their childhood when they often huddled close together. They had shared a room growing up and Baekhyun had been a very clingy child. Junmyeon had never complained about him stealing the duvet or holding onto him too tightly during the night.

 “I’m sorry, Baekhyun,” Junmyeon whispered. His throat sounded slightly constricted. “I really am. I wish none of this had happened.”  
Baekhyun heard him sniff. He gripped Junmyeon’s shirt tightly.

 “How did you find out about Sehun?” he murmured.  
 “I was meant to meet him…for work,” Junmyeon sighed. “You know when you first met Sehun and Chanyeol?”  
Baekhyun’s grip tightened at the mention of Chanyeol but he remained silent.  
 “Well, Sehun was actually stopping at the shop to meet me. Chanyeol didn’t know, by the way. But when you told me about Chanyeol, you didn’t mention Sehun. So I only figured it out later. Anyway, Sehun…has a bit of a reputation so I wanted to investigate him before working closely with him.”

Junmyeon was silent for a while and Baekhyun glanced up at him. He seemed to be holding back his emotions.

 “My dad told me everything,” he muttered bitterly. “He made it sound like it was some trivial thing he’d forgotten about. I waited a while before contacting Sehun. He was really shocked and he didn’t believe me at first. Also, he didn’t know that you and I are related until very recently. I made him swear to secrecy.”

Baekhyun felt worse now. Junmyeon gently squeezed his shoulder.  
 “This is mostly my fault, Baekhyun,” he murmured. “I wanted you to stay away from Chanyeol so that you wouldn’t get caught up in any of this. I mean, I knew he wouldn’t advertise Park Group’s underside but I wanted to be sure.”  
 “I just remembered,” Baekhyun said. “When I found out he was the heir…he seemed sad or something.”  
Now he felt the guilt pooling in his stomach.

“But…but you didn’t really try to stop me,” Baekhyun continued. He was trying to distract himself from his own guilt.  
 “Well, I’ve been monitoring you for a while,” Junmyeon sighed.  
Perhaps if Baekhyun had been more awake and less exhausted he would have jumped up and started shouting angrily.

But he felt somewhat numb to Junmyeon’s statement. He had basically been spied on just like Chanyeol.  
But now he knew that it was more out of Junmyeon’s concern than of a desire to control and restrict his life.

 “I don’t know if you noticed, but I had some of my men park outside your apartment.”  
 “That car…” Baekhyun muttered. He sighed heavily.  
 “I’m sorry for behaving like that,” Junmyeon said quickly. “But you know, they were the first to realise you had been kidnapped.”

That did not make Baekhyun feel any better about having lashed out at his cousin.  
 So all Junmyeon had been doing was protecting him. He was staying true to his self-imposed position as Baekhyun’s older brother. Nothing had changed since they were children. Even now, after lashing out at him and storming off, Junmyeon had still cleaned him up and fed him and made space in his bed for him.

“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun whispered. He felt a tear escape the corner of his eye.  
 “I’m sorry for being such a brat.”

Junmyeon seemed surprised at his apology but Baekhyun caught him smiling down at him.  
 “Hey, don’t cry,” Junmyeon murmured. “I should have been more open with you.”  
 “Here I am throwing a tantrum, meanwhile you’ve been dealing with Sehun being your brother while trying to keep me safe,” Baekhyun choked. “I’m so sorry, Junmyeon.”  
He buried his face into Junmyeon’s shoulder despite the discomfort and he quietly cried. Junmyeon gently rubbed his back.

He pulled away after a moment and sniffed. Junmyeon was quick to pass him tissues.  
 “Also, please don’t hate Chanyeol.”

Baekhyun stiffened. He thought he had spent all his tears and emotions for one day, but he felt that if he thought about Chanyeol then he would surely start crying.  
As much as he wanted to take some sort of revenge for getting hurt, he knew that he could never hate Chanyeol. He could never feel anything but unrelenting love and affection for him and that was why it hurt all the more.

 “He tried to phone you and when he realised something was wrong Sehun had put him on the phone to me,” Junmyeon explained. “He was really worried.”

Baekhyun wanted to pass out again. In his mind he pictured Chanyeol’s anguished face and his large watery eyes. He could not bear to admit to himself that he had hurt him. He pushed thoughts of Chanyeol to the back of his mind.

“Does my mom know about what happened?” he asked.  
 “No, and I think we should keep it that way for the time being,” Junmyeon replied. “I’ll have to talk to my dad about this. We can’t keep you in the dark anymore.”  
Baekhyun thought he would feel glad. He should feel glad at least for finally getting some kind of recognition as a capable adult. But instead he felt conflicted and slightly afraid.

“Junmyeon, have you ever…killed someone before?” he asked quietly. Junmyeon was not surprised at the question.  
 “Not directly,” he responded.  
 Baekhyun felt slightly mortified and yet relieved.  
 “It’s not like a movie, Baekhyun,” Junmyeon said with the hint of a chuckle. “But we can talk about it another time with my dad.”  
Baekhyun hummed in agreement.

They were silent for a while and just held onto each other in the darkness.  
 “What time is it?” Baekhyun asked.  
 “Just past two,” Junmyeon replied.  
Baekhyun realised that he had missed an entire day of lectures but that was one of the furthest concerns from his mind. He was more concerned about Jongdae and Minseok.

 “I lost my phone,” he groaned. “My friends probably think I’m dead.”  
 “Oh, actually, I forgot,” Junmyeon said. He reached to the cluttered bedside table and produce Baekhyun’s phone. “You must have dropped it when…when they took you.”

Baekhyun’s mind flashed back to the previous night and he buried his face further into Junmyeon’s shoulder. He knew that he was certainly going to be shaken for a long time. Junmyeon seemed to sense his anxiety.  
 “From now on I can pick you up from campus when you work at night,” he said softly.  
 “Thanks,” Baekhyun murmured.

He saw the missed calls and unopened messages from Chanyeol and tossed his phone back to his cousin.  
 “Go back to sleep. You can stay here for as long as you need,” Junmyeon said. He reached over Baekhyun and pulled the duvet up to his chin.

Baekhyun felt warm and safe now but was still exhausted and emotionally drained so he fell asleep quickly.

However he slept restlessly. Chanyeol weaved in and out of his vividly disturbing dreams and he woke up several times during the night. But every time Junmyeon was there to comfort him. He was either sitting at his desk bent over his computer or was back in the bed beside Baekhyun with an arm around his shoulder.

In his half-asleep state he was convinced he had heard Sehun’s voice in the house at one point during the night.  He hoped to hear the deep hum of Chanyeol’s voice as well, but the man had kept his promise and had truly left Baekhyun alone.

* * *

 

 _Baekhyun, please._  
_Please, Baekhyun._  
 _I’ll leave you alone. I promise._  
 _I love you so much, Baekhyun._

The room was slightly chilly when Baekhyun was roused awake by Junmyeon gently patting his shoulder. He got a small fright despite his cousin’s gentle voice.  
 “Hey, you should tell your friends if you’re going to lectures today. Or do you want me to phone Minseok?”

Baekhyun yawned and opened his eyes. His right eye was still swollen and the rest of his face was generally sore. Junmyeon was sitting on the edge of the bed in his dressing gown and looking slightly like a worn-out father.  
 “No. I’ll tell them I’ve been sick,” Baekhyun said as he sat up. Junmyeon nodded.  
 “I’ll go start breakfast,” he said before he stood up.

Baekhyun reached for his phone and cleared the notifications. He could not stand to see Chanyeol’s name on the screen. He dialled Minseok’s number and lay back against the pillows.

 “Baekhyun? Are you alive?” Minseok sounded frantic. Baekhyun heard him shushing Jongdae in the background.  
Baekhyun chuckled slightly at his friend’s indignant whines.  
 “Sorry for being AWOL, Minseok,” he said. He tried to make his voice sound a little weak.  
 “I got the lurgy of death, some flu or something.” He coughed convincingly. “I’ll be back tomorrow, though.”  
 “Baekhyun, tomorrow’s Saturday.”  
 “Oh.”

He ran his hands through his tousled hair. Despite having slept for well over twenty hours he still did not feel well-rested at all.

 “Should we come around to visit?” Jongdae yelled into the phone. “You’re pretty useless at looking after yourself.”  
 “ _Jongdae_ – “  
 “It’s true – “  
 “It’s fine,” Baekhyun said with a small laugh.

A smile was almost a foreign sensation to him and it made him miss his friends dearly.  
 “I’m at my cousin’s place, so I’m in good hands,” he said.  
 “God, you’re in that pigsty?” Minseok said in a scandalised tone and Baekhyun burst out laughing. He could not stop himself and he caused Junmyeon to run in, spatula in hand, with a concerned frown.  
 “We’re coming over now,” Minseok said before he cut the call. Baekhyun was rolling around clutching his sides for a moment before he realised what Minseok had said.

“Minseok and Jongdae are coming here,” he said gasped. Junmyeon shrugged.  
 “I’ll make more food, then,” he said. Baekhyun’s smile faded and he sat up.  
 “Can I tell them?” he asked.  
Junmyeon ran a hand through his hair. He had shaved and looked much better than yesterday.  
 “Yeah, they’re good guys,” he said. “Minseok will keep Jongdae’s mouth in check.”

Baekhyun nodded and stood up with a wince. His back and neck were stiff from being curled up for so long in the bed. He gingerly washed his face and brushed his teeth before he went to the kitchen to help Junmyeon set the table.

It started to rain just as Minseok and Jongdae arrived and Baekhyun was going to tease Jongdae about wearing his boyfriend’s jacket but the two were shocked when they saw his battered face.

 “What the.." Jongdae stuttered.  
 “Is this the lurgy of death?” Minseok asked with raised eyebrows.  
 “Well, it’s a long story,” Baekhyun sighed as he gestured for them to come inside.

The pair followed him to the kitchen and greeted Junmyeon. While Baekhyun was sure that they would have teased Junmyeon about the disorganised state of his kitchen or the mess he was currently making by the stove, there was instead an uneasy silence as they stared at Baekhyun’s face.  
 “Hey, it’s not like I’m dead,” he said in a half-hearted attempt to brighten the mood. Instead he got three pointed looks and quickly sat down.

Baekhyun explained everything about his family to Jongdae and Minseok. Then he explained everything about Chanyeol and Park Group although he paused several times to keep himself steady. He concluded with a quick explanation of his kidnapping. He did not want to linger on it for too long.

When he was done Jongdae was staring at him in utter shock, but Minseok was nodding thoughtfully.  
 “I’m not surprised about your family,” he muttered. “No offence, Junmyeon, but you’re not the most subtle.”

Junmyeon pouted slightly and Baekhyun would have teased him if the pancake he was eating did not remind him distinctly of the breakfasts he had eaten at the Phoenix Hotel. He felt Minseok gently touch his hand and he was brought out of his reverie. His curved eyes were soft as he looked at Baekhyun.

 “I’m sorry, Baekhyun,” he said quietly. Jongdae’s face was uncharacteristically solemn as he nodded and reached out to Baekhyun’s other hand.  
 “We’re here for you,” he added. “Don’t come back to lectures until you feel up to it.”

Baekhyun looked at his two best friends, their faces laced with concern and their eyes sparkling with affection, and he felt tears well up in his eyes. He nodded and quickly shoved a big piece of the pancake into his mouth.  
 “Fanks,” he said thickly. He forced down his emotions with a gulp of juice. Junmyeon had the sense to quietly pass him a serviette as he had dribbled juice down his chin.

“I trust you’ll both keep this to yourselves?” he said in a business-like tone that Baekhyun had never heard before. Minseok and Jongdae nodded. Junmyeon’s face softened and he leaned back in his chair.

 “Junmyeon, in the years we’ve known each other, you really haven’t learnt how to clean up,” Minseok said with his face contorted in disgust. He held up the lone forgotten sock he had been sitting on for Junmyeon to see and Baekhyun and Jongdae burst out laughing.


	10. Chapter Ten

Baekhyun had returned to his own flat on Sunday, albeit with some reluctance. He felt uneasy when he saw the street which he had been dragged off of. But Junmyeon had assured him that his men would now constantly be stationed outside his flat and it gave him a small degree of comfort.

In an effort to distract him from brooding over Chanyeol, Jongdae had come over to help him catch up on the work he had missed. He was rather surprised though when Jongdae brought up Chanyeol.

 “Baekhyun, do you really never want to see him again?” he asked. Baekhyun twisted the pen in his hands.   
 “Of course not,” he muttered. “I just…I felt so betrayed.”   
Jongdae nodded to encourage him to continue.   
 “But now, I think I’ve hurt him more,” he sighed. “I doubt he’d want to see me.”   
Jongdae raised an eyebrow.   
 “Baekhyun, after everything he’s done for you, you must be really dumb to think that he’d suddenly drop you,” he said.

“Jongdae, you don’t understand how…how I was to him,” Baekhyun said.   
He had not told anyone that Chanyeol had declared his love for him. He could not accept Chanyeol’s love at first because he felt so upset and betrayed, but now it was because now he felt that he did not deserve it.  He did not deserve the undying loyalty and devotion of someone who had sped after him through the rain just to be rejected.

 “Baekhyun, you can’t just leave things like this,” Jongdae protested.   
 “Look, you’re in a functional relationship, so you don’t really know any more than I do about this,” Baekhyun said quickly. “Can we go back to maths? I only missed two days but it felt like I missed the entire semester.”   
Jongdae bit back his argument and Baekhyun was grateful. He really did not have any more emotional energy to spare.

That night he had another intensely upsetting dream about his kidnapping and Chanyeol. He had woken with tears streaming down his face. He fumbled for the bedside lamp and tried to gather himself with his head in his hands. The piggy bank containing the ₩100000 was like a ghostly presence in the room and he resolved to give it to Junmyeon first thing in the morning to give to Sehun. He could not stand to have it any longer. He kept the lamp on while he tried to go back to sleep.

* * *

 

Baekhyun didn’t care about the stares he received on campus. The swelling on his face was slowly fading but the bruises were still dark purple and highly noticeable. He felt that if he was the same person he had been before meeting Chanyeol, he would have proudly sported his black eye and would have been rather excited about earning battle scars. Instead he just kept his head down and focused on his studies. October was coming to an end and his exams were quickly approaching. He threw himself into his work with more vigour than ever before.

He had finally acquired a new pair of glasses thanks to Junmyeon but he had been driven straight from the optometrist to their uncle’s home.

Baekhyun twisted his hands nervously as he sat next to his cousin in the room that served as his uncle’s office. He had never been allowed in there, and now instead of feeling a sense of pride he felt anxious.

His uncle had listened to Junmyeon’s narrative, which thankfully omitted Baekhyun’s true feelings for Chanyeol, and he sat back and regarded Baekhyun with an unreadable expression.

“So you know about your father?” he finally said after an oppressive silence. Baekhyun nodded.   
 “You know, it was me just as much as your mother who didn’t want you involved in any of this,” he said.   
Baekhyun sat up in his chair. His throat felt dry. He no longer felt any resentment for his family’s decision to protect him. He had compared his family to what he knew about Chanyeol’s family and felt exceedingly grateful.

 “To be honest…I don’t really want to be a part of it,” he said quickly. He had been mulling over his decision for a while but there had not been much to decide. The lifestyle of his cousin did not appeal to him now that he knew what it fully entailed. His uncle looked slightly surprised.

 “You don’t want to work for the family?” he asked. Junmyeon was sitting on the edge of his chair.  
 “I just want to get my degree,” Baekhyun said as he scratched the back of his head. “Minding the shop is one thing, but doing…whatever it is that Junmyeon does is another and honestly I don’t really want to know what that is.”

Junmyeon smiled while his father nodded.   
 “Your mother will be happy,” he said with a small smile. “And so am I.”

Baekhyun’s mother was nothing short of horrified when she had seen her son’s bruised face. Once again Junmyeon had quickly explained the situation. Baekhyun was relieved that his family held nothing against Park Group for his kidnapping as it had really been out of anyone’s control.

Baekhyun sat with his mother in the warm kitchen eating his favourite spicy soup that she had made for him since he could remember.   
 “This Chanyeol boy,” she said slowly. “There’s something you’re not telling me about him.”

Baekhyun froze with his spoon mid-air. He tensed in his chair. Her gaze was just as intense as her brother’s and Baekhyun could not look away.   
 “I…I love him,” he murmured into his soup. The soup warmed his very being the same way that Chanyeol did.   
“But it’s complicated at the moment.” He realised that this was the first time he had verbalised his love for Chanyeol.

To his surprise and relief his mother reached across the table and gently squeezed his hand.   
 “From what I’ve heard, it also sounds like he loves you very much,” she said quietly. “I’m happy knowing that someone cares so much for my little boy.”

Baekhyun swallowed down his emotions with a mouthful of scalding hot soup.   
 “Thanks, mom,” he said. He wanted to say a lot more but he was too emotional to articulate his feelings. His mother understood though and kissed his cheek.

* * *

 

Despite receiving approval from his mother and the occasional nagging from Jongdae and Minseok, Baekhyun could still not bring himself to speak to Chanyeol.

He thought that he was successfully distracting himself from Chanyeol despite his unpleasant dreams. He had given the piggy bank to a very bewildered Junmyeon, and he thought that would relieve some of his stress but he only ended up feeling worse.

He was taken aback on a particularly chilly Friday afternoon to find Sehun waiting outside the convenience shop. He had not seen him since his kidnapping. He wore a long coat and had a red scarf wrapped around his neck and he looked very much like a model. Baekhyun slowly approached him.

“Sehun?”   
The boy glanced around at the sound of his name and was quick to pull Baekhyun into a brief but tight hug.   
 “How are you?” he said with furrowed brows. Baekhyun smiled at him.   
 “I’m fine. Come inside,” he said with a shrug.

Sehun silently followed him upstairs to his flat and Baekhyun had never seen him look so awkward before. They sat at the small table and Sehun looked out of place in the slightly messy flat.

 “So, we’re cousins now,” Baekhyun finally said. Sehun seemed to be holding his breath.   
 “Baekhyun, Junmyeon made me swear not to say anything."   
 “It’s fine,” Baekhyun said quickly. “Really, it’s all fine now.” He pushed Sehun’s untouched mug of coffee towards him.   
 “I was really selfish,” he continued. “So there’s nothing to be sorry for or anything. And I’m glad that I’m related to you,” he said with a grin. “All my baby cousins are too little but I can boss you around.”   
Sehun’s disdainful expression returned and Baekhyun laughed before it was quickly replaced with a slightly concerned frown.

“I’m also here to talk about Chanyeol,” Sehun said. Baekhyun felt his stomach drop. “To put it bluntly, he’s a mess. He acts like he’s fine but he obviously isn’t. He hardly eats. He won’t tell me what happened between you two.”

Baekhyun stared at his coffee and felt the guilt rising within him.   
 “I told him to leave me alone after he said he loves me,” Baekhyun muttered into his mug.  
“And do you feel the same way?” Sehun asked.   
Baekhyun nodded.   
 “And you’ve resolved everything with your family?”   
Baekhyun nodded again.   
He looked up and saw that Sehun’s gaze had hardened.   
 “Then why are you doing this to Chanyeol?” he asked. “Are you still angry with him?”   
 “No –“   
 “Then why hurt him like this?” Sehun said. “You know, I gave him the money and it nearly finished him.”

Baekhyun bit his lip. He did not want to see Sehun’s expression but he heard the anger laced in his voice. Baekhyun knew that Sehun was just looking out for Chanyeol and felt that he deserved any anger directed at him.

 “I’ve just…I’ve really fucked up,” Baekhyun muttered. “He should just forget about me –“   
 “Bullshit,” Sehun interrupted. “You’re both too in love with each other. Baekhyun stop being so stubborn and proud and just talk to him.”

Baekhyun was taken aback by his tone but he knew Sehun was right. He twisted his hands in his lap.   
 “Did he get into shit with his dad for my ransom?” he asked. It was a burning question at the back of his mind.   
 “Yes, but he did it all the same and that’s what matters,” Sehun said. He glanced at his watch.   
 “Are you available to see him tonight?”   
 “I’ve got this Halloween thing I already promised I was going to,” he sighed.   
 “It’s fine. I can pick you up afterwards. How’s ten?”   
 “Yeah, that’s fine,” Baekhyun said. “Are you sure that he doesn’t hate my guts for being an ass?”

Sehun gave him a glare that would have made him laugh if it were a different situation.   
 “You’re two idiotic peas in a pod,” he huffed.

* * *

 

And so Baekhyun was soon pacing anxiously in his haphazard vampire costume at an unnecessarily raucous Halloween party. True to university student culture, the partiers were more interested in drinking than in their costumes. If he were not meeting Chanyeol in a few hours he would have done more than simply thrown a black cape over his jeans and t-shirt.

Minseok had helped him with his heavy makeup in an effort to make his bruised face a part of the costume but Baekhyun had gone a little overboard with the fake blood and looked more like a zombie than a vampire. He had been at the party for over an hour now and he was internally fretting over how he should apologise to Chanyeol.

Minseok appeared with three drinks and regarded Baekhyun with a raised eyebrow.   
 “He’s been doing this for a while now,” Jongdae said with some concern. He and Minseok wore matching glasses and suits as a part of their Kingsman costumes. Baekhyun had teased them thoroughly about it before lapsing in to his state of stress. He glanced at his friends and threw himself back into his chair.

 “Okay, I’m going to see Chanyeol tonight because I fucked up and Sehun told me how miserable he’s been but I thought that he would hate me and I’ve made everything worse and I have no idea what to say to him because he told me he loves me and I told him to go away because I’m a moron,” he said in one breath.

Minseok and Jongdae stared at him for a silent moment.

 “What the hell are you sitting here for?” Minseok exclaimed.   
 “Well, I told you I’d come to this party ages ago!"  
 “Baekhyun, you’re an idiot,” Minseok sighed with his head in his hands.   
 “Hey! Sehun’s busy and he’s the one taking me to see Chanyeol, so it’s not entirely my fault,” Baekhyun said defensively.   
 “Dude, call him now and ask him if he’s available,” Jongdae said.

Baekhyun withheld a comment about Jongdae’s own idiocy but as he took out his phone it started to ring.   
 “Sehun? I was just about to phone you –“   
 “Baekhyun, Chanyeol’s missing.”

Baekhyun froze. He no longer heard the music in the bar and he couldn’t even feel his fingers. An icy cold wave of dread washed over him and he was on his feet without realising it and hurrying outside into the night air.

 “What do you mean? Where are you now?”   
 “I can’t get hold of him and he’s not in his apartment,” Sehun said frantically in a higher pitch.   
 “Sehun please pick me up now. I’ll help you find him I-I can’t just sit and wait,” Baekhyun said. He registered Minseok and Jongdae standing beside him. He quickly gave Sehun the address of the bar and cut the call.

He slumped against the wall while breathing quickly.   
 “Baekhyun, what’s going on?” Jongdae asked.   
 “Chanyeol’s missing but Sehun is coming to fetch me so we can look for him,” he said in a surprisingly steady voice.   
He wondered if this is what Chanyeol had felt when he realised Baekhyun had disappeared.

_What if Chanyeol’s been kidnapped and forced into a vile hotel room and tied up and beaten up and what if they have guns they certainly wouldn’t care about hurting him –_

Minseok grabbed his arm as he was sliding down the wall.   
 “Hey, breathe, Baekhyun,” he said calmly. “Just breathe in and out.”   
Baekhyun focused on Minseok’s soft voice and followed his instructions. His friends sat on either side of him in silence for an agonising ten minutes.

He finally spotted a black Mercedes turning the corner and Baekhyun sprung to his feet. He wrenched open the passenger seat door before the car had even stopped.   
 “Sehun!"   
 “Get in.”   
 “Minseok -?”   
 “We’re coming too.”

Baekhyun was bewildered to see Minseok and Jongdae climbing into the backseat as if they were going on a group outing.

 “I’m Jongdae, and this is Minseok,” Jongdae said quickly.   
 “Nice to meet you, Sehun,” Minseok said.   
Sehun stared at them in the rear-view mirror. Baekhyun thought he was hallucinating.

 “Are you guys crazy? This could be something really serious,” he said. “I can’t drag you two into it.”   
 “If something happens to you I need to be there to tell Junmyeon,” Minseok said.   
 “And we both know too much about all of this anyway,” Jongdae said with a wave of his hand and a tone of finality. To Baekhyun’s bewilderment Sehun nodded and turned the car back onto the road.

“I tried calling Chanyeol about an hour before I phoned you,” Sehun said quickly. “I knew he wasn’t at his father’s house, so I went to his penthouse but he also wasn’t there. I have no idea where he could be.”   
Baekhyun exhaled deeply and gathered his thoughts.   
 “You have an iPhone, right?”   
Sehun nodded.   
 “Quickly pass it here. I can use it to track Chanyeol’s phone.”

Sehun handed over his phone despite his confused frown.   
 “How on earth can you do that?”   
 “Pull over, this might take some time,” Baekhyun said. The car skidded to a wonky stop and Baekhyun scrambled over to the backseat and threw himself in-between Jongdae and Minseok.

He downloaded software onto Sehun’s phone that would allow him to track Chanyeol’s phone. It was very illegal but as a computer sciences student he was well accustomed with illegal and unreleased software.

Baekhyun spoke quickly with Jongdae and Minseok who helped him get through the script and coding.   
 “Okay, so I can use his number to track his IP address,” Baekhyun muttered.   
Baekhyun stared at the screen with trembling hands while he waited for the program to pinpoint a location on Chanyeol’s phone.

 “I’ve got it!” he cried when a red blinking icon appeared. “The map isn’t great though.”   
 “Use my GPS,” Jongdae said as he produced his own phone. He was quickly able to pull up the correct map on the application.   
 “Sehun, I think we need to go to the outskirts of Seoul,” Baekhyun said as he studied the screen.   
 “Just lead the way,” Sehun said with a resolute expression.

As the software was still experimental, it was slightly difficult to follow its directions while applying them to the map on Jongdae’s phone. Baekhyun directed Sehun while Jongdae and Minseok tried to organise the route. They were lead to several dead ends and Baekhyun’s anxiety was growing.

They were well within an industrial area now that neither Baekhyun nor even Sehun recognised. The roofs of factories and warehouses jutted out against the moonlit sky.

 “Hey, it’s not far now,” Minseok said. “Take a left turn.”

Sehun manoeuvred the car down an unpaved dirt road that stretched for quite a while until they reached a dead end. The car’s headlights were their only source of light and Baekhyun was able to see a tall wire fence stretching out in front of them.  
 “It’s right here,” Minseok said. He furrowed his brows. “But I don’t see a building or anything.”

Sehun turned off the car and only then did Baekhyun notice how silent it was.

 “There must be a warehouse or something beyond the fence,” Sehun said quietly. Baekhyun saw him reach inside his jacket but he paused and glanced over his shoulder at the trio.   
 “This might be a dangerous situation,” he muttered.   
 “It’s fine. It’s for Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said firmly.

Sehun gave him an unreadable glance before he nodded and climbed out the car. Baekhyun scrambled out after Minseok with Jongdae behind him and they met Sehun at the boot of the car where he produced a small arsenal of weapons.

If Minseok was shocked he did not show it, but Baekhyun shared the same incredulous expression as Jongdae.   
 “I can give you simple handguns,” Sehun said. “Do you all know how to use it?”

They shook their heads and Sehun sighed. He handed them each small pistols and gave them the briefest crash course Baekhyun had ever experienced. He really hoped he would not actually have to use the weapon. He thought he probably stood a better chance by hitting someone over the head with it.   
Baekhyun had never seen Minseok and Jongdae look more out of place despite how their guns actually suited their Halloween costumes.

 “Maybe you guys should stay behind," he said.   
 “We’ve already come this far,” Jongdae interrupted despite how he nervously glanced over his shoulder and took Minseok’s hand.   
 “Hopefully we can negotiate our way through this,” Sehun muttered as he took his own gun from within his coat.

Baekhyun was in a state of disbelief. He and his friends were breaking into private property on Halloween to locate Chanyeol’s phone. There wasn’t even a guarantee that Chanyeol himself was there. But Baekhyun preferred not to think about that possibility. Instead he tried to help Sehun break the lock of the wire gate with well-aimed kicks. Minseok was able to break it with one clean kick and Baekhyun grinned at him proudly.

The gate creaked open and they cautiously walked down a dirt path using the light of their phones to guide them. They walked for a while in silence before Jongdae walked into a car and Minseok was quick to shut up his complaints.

Baekhyun shone his light around and noticed that there were two cars parked in the long and unkempt grass. Then he took a step forward and the light illuminated a building jutting out before them.   
 “Is it a warehouse?” he whispered.   
 “Possibly. Let’s try and find a door,” Sehun replied.

They edged around the building, Baekhyun was practically tip-toeing, and stopped when they found that the tall metal door was ajar. Sehun was leading them and he held his finger to his lips. There was the sound of voices echoing from inside. Sehun crouched down and Baekhyun quickly copied him.

Despite the discomfort they slowly crept inside and entered the dimly lit warehouse. There were stacks upon stacks of crates and boxes and they were to the group’s advantage as they were hidden from view. As they crept further inside the voices got louder and Baekhyun realised that they were speaking Mandarin.

He had been anxious ever since they entered but his heart climbed into his throat when Sehun stopped and gestured for him to peer through a gap in a pile of crates. He could see three men who stood with their backs to Baekhyun. There was a dim naked bulb above them and it cast a halo of light on Chanyeol who was seated before them. Baekhyun saw that he was tied to the chair with his arms bound to his sides. He nearly screamed out when he saw that he sported a black eye. He felt Sehun tightly gripping his shoulder.

The man in the centre had an earring and was speaking quickly to his comrades. There backs were to the group so Baekhyun could not see his face but there was something in his voice that sounded eerily familiar to Baekhyun.   
 “You have one more chance to tell us who did it,” he said to Chanyeol. “I don’t want to resort to violence.”

Baekhyun clasped his hand over his mouth to contain his gasp.   
The faint accent and the slightly monotonous pitch. It was Yixing, his maths tutor. Instead of his usual floppy hairstyle that obscured his eyes, his hair was neatly gelled back and he was smartly dressed in place of his usual tracksuit.

In a moment of mingled panic and disbelief Baekhyun pushed past Sehun and burst into the centre of the room with his vampire cape flapping theatrically behind him.   
 “Yixing!” he cried.

A number of things happened within seconds. The three men jumped around and immediately pulled out their guns and aimed them at Baekhyun but Yixing gasped. Baekhyun was quick to hold his arms above his head just as Sehun, Minseok and Jongdae burst from the shadows. Chanyeol stared at the scene with a gaping mouth.

Everyone’s weapons were pointed at each other and there was a tense moment of silence.

 “ _Baekhyun?_ What are you doing here?” Yixing finally said. Baekhyun forced out a nervous laugh despite the sweat pouring down his face.   
 “Uh, we’re here to rescue Chanyeol, I guess,” he stuttered.

Yixing’s gun was pointed at Sehun but he regarded Baekhyun with a raised eyebrow.

 “Did you kidnap him?” Sehun quickly asked. Yixing’s confused expression immediately hardened and his eyes narrowed when he regarded Sehun.   
 “Well, someone has to take responsibility for murdering our boss,” he said in a low voice and Baekhyun felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

 “I had nothing to do with it!” Chanyeol yelled.   
Baekhyun noted the hint of desperation in his voice and it took a lot of self-control to stop himself from rushing over to him.

Yixing glared at him.   
 “Our sources have led us to Park Group, so now someone has to pay the price,” he said.   
 “Wait a minute,” Sehun said. He took a cautious step forward. “I heard about this, and I can assure you that Park Group had nothing to do with it.”

 “I’m supposed to believe you? The Pretty Boy?” Yixing scoffed. “How can you even prove that none of your men were in Shanghai last week Thursday? Or that you didn’t hire someone else to do the job?”   
Sehun pursed his lips.   
 “We don’t do business in China. That’s – “   
 “My uncle!” Baekhyun suddenly exclaimed upon connecting his uncle’s frequent trips to China with his work for Park Group.

Yixing looked bewildered but Sehun nodded.

“Yixing,” Baekhyun said. “Last week Thursday Sehun and Chanyeol were here in Seoul because…because I got kidnapped and they had to come get me.”

Yixing’s eyes widened.

 “And my uncle hasn’t been to China for a while, and my cousin was with me, so there’s no way that any of them could be connected to this.”   
Baekhyun never thought that he would be explaining such things in a vampire costume in a warehouse on the outskirts of Seoul. Yixing also looked more confused than usual. He stared at Baekhyun for a moment and his gaze was piercing.

 “You got kidnapped?” he asked.   
 “It was the Choi Gang,” Chanyeol said loudly. Yixing turned around and it seemed as though he had forgotten Chanyeol was there. But his lip curled up in disgust.   
 “ _Them_? What would they want with Baekhyun?”   
 “Because Chanyeol and I are dating,” Baekhyun said. He met Chanyeol’s eyes briefly.

Yixing turned back to face him with a pleasantly surprised expression.   
 “Oh, congratulations,” he said and his mouth curled into a small dimpled smile. He then stowed his gun within his jacket and scratched his chin thoughtfully.

Baekhyun shared the same shocked expression as everyone else in the room and he felt as though he might burst into a fit of hysterical laughter.

 “I believe you,” Yixing finally said with a nod to Baekhyun and his companions. One of Yixing’s men fired off rapidly in Mandarin, most probably asking how Yixing had even reached such a conclusion. But Baekhyun knew that Yixing had an uncanny ability to detect liars, as he had seen it several times during his tutorials. Yixing placated him with a curt sentence before he went over to Chanyeol and swiftly untied him from the chair.

“Why did you hurt him?” Sehun suddenly asked. He was the only one who was still holding his gun properly. Minseok and Jongdae had been watching the spectacle with their weapons loosely at their sides while Yixing’s men had reluctantly put away their guns. The soft expression that Baekhyun was accustomed to appeared on Yixing’s face.

 “He fell,” he said simply.   
 “I’m clumsy,” Chanyeol said with a nod and Baekhyun felt a sudden rush of affection for him and he sprung forward and wrapped his arms around him.

The hug was so sudden that Chanyeol barely had time to react before Baekhyun pulled away after realising that there were several other people in the room. But he had no time to be embarrassed because Yixing was actually cooing behind him.

 “How sweet!” he said with a faint sparkle in his eyes. “I’m terribly sorry for this misunderstanding. But perhaps you can help us figure this all out.”   
 “I’ll tell you what I know,” Sehun said. He looked as though he was trying to contain a smile after seeing Baekhyun hug Chanyeol but he put on a professional face as he started to talk to Yixing.

While they were engaged in their discussion Baekhyun looked up at Chanyeol. He looked anxious and thoroughly dishevelled.

 “Baekhyun – “   
 “Chanyeol – “   
 “I’m sorry – “   
Baekhyun placed his hand over Chanyeol’s lips and stunned him into silence.

 “No, I’m sorry for being an asshole,” he said quietly. “I was selfish and immature. The kidnapping wasn’t your fault at all and I know you were just trying to protect me from – from all of this and I can’t believe I told you to leave me alone because I just wanted you to feel as hurt as I was and _I’m so so sorry_ – “

His emotions choked him and he made to step away but Chanyeol was quick to grab his hand and pull him closer. He wiped the stray tear from Baekhyun’s cheek with the edge of his sleeve.   
 “I’ve missed you so much,” Baekhyun stammered. “And now you’ve gotten yourself a black eye.”   
Chanyeol chuckled.   
 “At least we match now. And I probably could have given myself a black eye in my apartment, anyway.”

Baekhyun felt a large grin spread over his face and he could not help but laugh at Chanyeol’s nonchalant shrug. Chanyeol pulled him into a clumsy hug and they held each other tightly until Baekhyun heard Jongdae sniggering behind him.

 “These are my friends, Minseok and Jongdae,” Baekhyun said hastily as he pulled away and gestured to the grinning couple.   
 “Hi,” Chanyeol said shyly.

Minseok looked as though he was surveying a car as he looked Chanyeol up and down and the taller man cowered slightly under his intense gaze.   
 “It’s great to finally meet you,” he said with a genuine smile and Baekhyun felt slightly relieved.  
 “Even if the circumstances are weird,” Jongdae said with a shrug.   
 “We’re glad that someone’s been looking after Baekhyun,” Minseok said with a grin.   
 “Thanks for the evaluation,” Baekhyun said quickly. He was thankful for his makeup as it hid the blush creeping across his cheeks. Chanyeol looked very unsure of what to do so he merely smiled and wrung his hands.   
 “It’s – er – it’s great to meet you too,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot about you. You two also look after Baekhyun nicely.”

Jongdae and Chanyeol both burst out laughing when Baekhyun gawked at the latter of the two with a slightly mortified expression. Their laughter echoed throughout the warehouse and it caused Yixing’s men to stare at them with raised eyebrows.

Sehun and Yixing finally finished their discussion.

 “We’ll be working closely with Yixing. We can discuss it with your father tomorrow,” Sehun said quietly to Chanyeol who nodded.   
 “I’m eager to do business with Park Group,” Yixing said with a dimpled smile as if he and Chanyeol were going on a picnic together instead of collaborating in illegal trading.

He bowed to Chanyeol and his men were quick to follow suit.   
 “Again, I’m really sorry about this misunderstanding,” he said. He was so endearing for a gangster that Baekhyun was unsurprised when Chanyeol shrugged and waved his hand.   
 “It’s fine, let’s just put it behind us,” he said. He ambled forward and offered his hand to Yixing who shook it with a smile.  
 “I’ll see you in the next tutorial, Baekhyun,” he said cheerily before giving the group a final goodbye and turning to exit the warehouse.

“Is he always like that?” Sehun immediately asked. He had discarded his stoic mask for a look of utter exasperated confusion and Baekhyun chuckled.   
 “Yeah, he’s the best,” he said. “So, you’re alright, right, Chanyeol?” he asked quickly.   
 “Yeah, they snatched me from my penthouse but they were nice about it,” he said.   
“I mean, like, they didn’t drug me or anything.”   
Baekhyun nodded, and Chanyeol must have seen the look that briefly crossed his face for he reached out and took his hand and squeezed it.   
 “You make a great vampire, Baekhyun,” he said cheerily. “I wish I was doing something for Halloween.”

Baekhyun was surprised at how dejected he sounded about Halloween despite the fact that he had been kidnapped a few hours ago. But he smiled as an idea came to mind.   
 “Why don’t you join us?” he said with a gesture to Minseok and Jongdae.   
 “I don’t have a costume,” Chanyeol muttered with a glance down at his Adidas tracksuit.   
 “You can go as a dead athlete!” Jongdae chirped, “I think Baekhyun has the fake blood he used.”

Chanyeol’s face lit up and it was like looking at the sun for Baekhyun. He wasted no time in fishing out the fake blood from his pocket and carefully painting Chanyeol’s face with it.   
 “You’re next, Sehun!” Chanyeol announced before the boy could attempt to escape.   
 “I’ll pass – “

But Chanyeol had reached out a long arm and pulled Sehun towards Baekhyun. He used the rest of the fake blood on Sehun and now they all looked thoroughly ready for Halloween.

Chanyeol sat in the passenger seat turned around on his knees so he could chatter with Baekhyun in the back. He hardly paid attention to what Chanyeol was saying because all he could focus on was the light in his eyes and his bright smile.

As his excitement grew so did Baekhyun’s affection for Chanyeol and he felt as if his heart was going to burst. Baekhyun thought that Jongdae must have noticed his slightly dazed expression because he stifled a snicker and pinched his thigh to bring him back to reality.

The party at the student pub was in full swing when they arrived and Chanyeol and Sehun marvelled at the dingy place. It was tiny and it was a wonder that the upstairs dance floor had not collapsed from the years of accommodating drunken students jumping up and down.

While they shoved their way to the crowded bar to order drinks Sehun stared at the wooden ceiling above them with a raised eyebrow as it was practically bouncing with the dancers above.

 “This is amazing!” Chanyeol exclaimed when he saw how cheap the alcohol was. But he wasn’t focused on his own drink as Chanyeol was quick to pull Baekhyun upstairs to the dance floor before they could sit down.

They did their usual haphazard dance with Baekhyun’s cape flying around him as he moved while trying to avoid being stepped on by Chanyeol’s feet. Chanyeol looked so carefree and genuinely happy that even in the dingy lighting Baekhyun could see his wide grin and sparkling eyes.

He was overcome with affection and his emotions and he threw his arms around Chanyeol in a clumsy embrace. The throng of people around them caused him to stumble but Chanyeol held him steady and Baekhyun realised that Chanyeol was leading him off the dance floor and to the tiny balcony outside. He resurfaced from Chanyeol’s chest and breathed in a gulp of the cold night air. 

 “Hey, are you okay?” Chanyeol said gently. His arms were tightly wound around Baekhyun’s waist and his face eyebrows were raised in concern as he looked down at him.

Baekhyun bit his bottom lip.  
 “When…when you – God this is so weird to phrase – when you chased after me in the rain and told me you loved me,” Baekhyun said in one breath before inhaling deeply.   
 “I didn’t respond. But it’s because I was upset and just being an ass – “  
 “Your feelings were valid, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol interrupted. “I get why you were upset. I’d also be.”

Baekhyun looked up at him and saw the truth of his words reflected in his eyes and he felt his heart surge with affection.   
 “We can put it all behind us,” Chanyeol said with a smile. Baekhyun took a deep breath.   
 “I just wanted to finally say that I also really love you, Chanyeol,” he said firmly.

Chanyeol stared at him for a moment with a slack jaw before his face broke into the widest smile Baekhyun had ever seen and he pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. He kissed Baekhyun on the forehead and then on the cheek before he started pecking him feverishly and Baekhyun burst out laughing when Chanyeol accidentally head-butted him.

 “I’m sorry!” he gasped through his own laughter.   
 “It’s okay,” Baekhyun before he tilted his head up and kissed Chanyeol on the cheek. “You’re too tall for me,” he said with a pout.   
Chanyeol bent his head with a grin and was about to kiss Baekhyun when the unmistakable sound of a girl group suddenly blasted from within the club and Baekhyun gasped in excitement. He yanked Chanyeol back inside where they joined Minseok and Jongdae in cheering on Sehun while he danced.

Baekhyun thought that no matter where he was, be it in the sultry blue light of _Exodus_ or the grandiose dining room of the Phoenix Hotel or the over packed dance floor of a student pub, as long as he was with Chanyeol he would always feel content.

It didn’t matter that his identity had been shrouded in secrecy. It was something beyond the both of them and all that mattered was that Chanyeol was holding his hands as he pulled him along with the music. Baekhyun didn’t see Chanyeol as the heir of Park Group or as a member of the mob. All he saw was a brightly smiling boy who had just wanted to buy an Iron Man figurine one sweltering summer’s day.

Baekhyun loved Chanyeol with every fibre of his being and he wouldn’t change one bit about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am very cliche and idealistic and I thrive off happy endings so there you go! Also the title is inspired by Twin Peaks but thankfully this is nowhere nearly as dark or messed up as Twin Peaks, I just liked the association of Chanyeol with fire and him taking Baekhyun on a convoluted life-changing adventure ~   
> And also a hoe is crying and that hoe is me: thank you so much to everyone who's left comments and kudos so far (Ｔ▽Ｔ) it really means a lot to me <3   
> I hope everyone enjoyed this fic!


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